AHLA
Joins HHS OIG and Industry Leaders to Release Joint Guidance for
Health Care Boards
WASHINGTON, DC – In the first collaboration of its kind
between these groups, the Inspector General of the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS OIG), the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA), the
Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors (AHIA) and the Health Care
Compliance Association (HCCA) today released a joint educational resource to
assist governing boards of health care organizations carry out their compliance
plan oversight obligations.
In
addition to governing boards of health care organizations, the document will also
assist internal auditors, lawyers, and compliance officers that report to those
boards. This cross-disciplinary authorship highlights the complementary roles of
the internal audit, compliance, and legal functions in any comprehensive
compliance program.
This new
educational resource provides practical ideas that boards may consider
implementing in their organizations. The guidance includes processes for
identifying risks, tools for improving adherence to program objectives, and
effective reporting tools for board meetings. The document suggests diverse
tools and tips that boards of varied sizes and resources may use.
The
document, which expands on issues presented in prior documents issued together
by OIG and AHLA, also suggests ways to identify compliance risks in a rapidly changing
health care environment.
The
issuing organizations state the document is not intended to set particular
standards of conduct and should not be taken as legal or professional advice or
opinion from any of the organizations.
The
document provides examples of how boards may foster a corporate culture of
compliance to meet the ultimate goals of protecting the integrity and viability
of the nation’s health care delivery system.
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About the American
Health Lawyers Association
AHLA
is the nation’s largest nonpartisan educational organization devoted to legal
issues in the health care field. The Association’s more than 13,000 members
practice in a variety of settings in the health care community. For information
about resources, publications, and educational offerings, visit www.healthlawyers.org or follow AHLA on
Twitter @healthlawyers.
About the HHS Office
of the Inspector General
HHS
OIG is the largest inspector general's office in the federal government and is dedicated
to combating fraud, waste and abuse and to improving the efficiency of HHS
programs. A majority of OIG's resources go toward the oversight of Medicare and
Medicaid — programs that represent a significant part of the federal budget and
that affect this country's most vulnerable citizens. OIG's oversight extends to
programs under other HHS institutions, including the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. For more
information about the OIG, visit www.oig.hhs.gov.
About the Health Care
Compliance Association
HCCA
is a non-profit professional membership organization with more than 10,000
members. It is dedicated to improving the quality of compliance. HCCA provides
training, certification, networking, and other resources to its members.
HCCA’s members include compliance professionals from a wide range of
organizations, including hospitals, health systems, research facilities,
long-term care, physician practices, clinics, managed care,
pharmaceutical, medical device, and technology service providers. For more
information about HCCA, visit www.hcca-info.org.
About the Association
of Healthcare Internal Auditors
AHIA
provides leadership and advocacy to advance the healthcare internal audit
profession globally by facilitating relevant education, resources and
networking opportunities. AHIA members comprise a network of experienced
healthcare internal auditing professionals who come together to share tools,
knowledge and insight on how to assess and evaluate risk within a complex and
dynamic healthcare environment. The organization is dedicated to the
advancement of the healthcare internal auditing profession. For more
information about AHIA, visit www.ahia.org
