Ensuring all employees have ethics and corporate compliance training is not enough for any institution, let alone for a hospital or a medical clinic. The board or management of the healthcare facility has to make sure that there is a good system in place which complies with any state or federal laws, as well as with any applicable rules and regulations. Listed below you will find a few key features that make an ethics and corporate compliance program in healthcare efficient.
* First and foremost, any program implemented in a healthcare facility has to have a good foundation for it to work without any issues. Hospital management has to begin by informing all staff members that a new program has been adopted and by enrolling all employees in an ethics and compliance training course. The training will provide staff members with relevant information regarding ethics and corporate compliance in healthcare, which will make it easier for them to understand the concept behind the program.
* Next, the management has to commit to reviewing and updating the code of conduct and ethics on a constant basis so as to ensure it complies with current regulations and policies. Regularly evaluating the code of conduct will allow management to also asses their efficiency and to make any necessary adjustments.
* After setting the program in place, hospital management is required to designate a chief compliance officer who can oversee and monitor the program to ensure it is being followed by all employees. Additionally, especially in larger hospitals, management can also establish a compliance commit which can assist and advice the compliance officer.
* Management has to come up with a solution for employees to report violations or ask questions to the compliance officer, without their identity being revealed. A hotline, a website where reports can be submitted, or even a suggestion box are all viable options.
* Management then has to establish a system which can promptly respond to violation reports and that has the power to enforce disciplinary actions against staff members that are non-compliant or that have proven bad ethics in their actions.
* Regular compliance audits and other evaluation techniques should also be implemented in order to assess the program’s compliance with healthcare standards and regulations. Apart from ensuring internal evaluations, managements should resort to external auditing experts as well. This will ensure that the evaluation is fair and that there is no subjectivism involved in the assessment.
* In the event someone reports a possible violation or if the compliance officer spots one, management has to immediately respond to it and begin investigations. In case the violation is proven, applicable laws should be rapidly applied to the perpetrators and corrective actions have to be taken.
For an ethics and corporate compliance program to be truly efficient, hospital management has to truly commit it. The steps provided above should serve as guidelines for any board that wishes to have a working ethics and compliance program that all staff members adhere to.
Ethics
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* Prof. Thurman discusses Buddhist ethics, which he translates as the ten-fold path of skillful and unskillful action. Instead of right and wrong, Professor Thurman urges us to consider ethical behavior as any action that helps us evolve on the path toward enlightenment. He provides a blue print for those seeking to bring spiritual values into the workplace and beyond.
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Ethics