6 Things You Need to Know About Ethics and Corporate Compliance in Healthcare

With the increased attention the US Government has been giving to financial crimes, fraud in the healthcare system and corporate fraud in the last couple of years, ethics and corporate compliance training(CCT) courses have also come into the spotlight. Though the importance of this type of training is evident in all types of companies and institutions, they are especially needed in the healthcare system, due to the large number of ethical issues usually involved in the medical field. Read on to find out more about ethics and CCT in healthcare.

• The USA has a non-profit organization that offers ethics and corporate compliance resources for medical professional within the country, called The Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA). Apart from these resources, which include publications, educational courses, conferences and even a social network, the HCCA also helps individuals get their certificate in healthcare compliance.

• For an ethics and corporate course to be efficient it has to be implemented on all levels, from senior management to employees. Healthcare facilities are urged to designate a compliance officer, which can be represented by any member of the institution, to overview the efficiency of the course. The compliance officer will be responsible for reporting any worrisome issues or criminal conduct he or she has observed during executive meetings.

• Following any reports issued by the compliance officer, the healthcare institution is obliged to assess the situation, remedy any harm caused by the criminal conduct (such as offering restitution to all identifiable victims) and make any necessary adjustments to the ethics and corporate course in order to ensure its ongoing efficiency. In order for an ethics and corporate compliance course to have a real impact, the institution's management has to take it upon itself to strictly regulate the way the course is conducted.

• Ethics and corporate compliance in healthcare training is meant to help employees and management deal with issues such as employment, patient privacy, identity theft, diversity, harassment and to improve overall communication between members of the organization.

• Apart from online training applications, hospitals and other healthcare institutions can also take advantage of training DVDs, handbooks, and posters which they can display and distribute at staff meetings. This will help refresh everybody's memory on the lessons learned during the ethics and corporate compliance course.

• Most ethics and corporate compliance classes are offered online and can be accessed at any time, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week. This leaves hospital management the liberty to organize the training course however they wish to. Additionally, most companies allow an unlimited number of members to sign up, so a hospital manager can easily introduce all staff members at once.

Ethics and corporate compliance training in the healthcare system is slowly starting to get the attention it deserves, as more and more institutions recognize its importance. For more information on this matter or if you have any questions regarding the ethics and compliance requirements, you can contact the HCAA.

Article by : Greg Garner

Article source : 6 Things You Need to Know About Ethics and Corporate Compliance in Healthcare