19 July - 2023expectations from a regulatory perspective, on what effective compliance programs look like. In the compliance professional, you should always remember which organization you're trying to service and who the supporting people in your community are, and ultimately, you end up dedicating yourself to the industry. People in the industry either love the compliance field and are passionate about their job or they leave because it's not for them. People in the compliance field who are familiar with compliance programs have a different appreciation for what individuals within the healthcare industry are going through. As a compliance professional myself, at times I find it hard to navigate through the landscape because every year, just like the healthcare industry, we are asked to do more with less. For example, we are facing significant staffing shortages. Through staffing issues were prominent before the pandemic, COVID added another layer to staffing shortages. Balancing this can be a struggle. As compliance officers, we have to build relationships to help solve this problem. We build relationships internally through our organization, but we also build relationships within the industry and find the right partners to help us focus on specific issues and problem solve them. Building additional resources outside of the organization is crucial to thrive in the industry.In the context of staffing shortages, declining revenue, and sick patients, compliance officers have to focus on the particular risk profiles for each organization, and how they are going to prioritize that effort. A compliance officer is responsible for the day-to-day operations of a compliance program, but at the same time, you need to be able to educate and hold leaders accountable for understanding their role, as compliance is a shared responsibility. You have to dedicate yourself and your data finding time to find time to do things that you really need to be going on day-to-day bases to ensure you have a compliance program that is effective. When you're building compliance programs, you're gaining contacts from patients, staff members, regulators, who ask questions, need assistance, and report their concerns. In such scenarios, you have to shift your attention between problem solving, root cause analysis, enhancing workflows, drafting policies, which is why the industry is complicated, as it's hard for one person to know all rules and regulations. For these reasons, it's important to have effective training programs and we're holding individual counseling throughout the organization, as the compliance officer alone cannot do everything.As a compliance officer, I spend time listening, researching, and understanding the healthcare industry to realize its view after May 11th, and how it relates to billing services compliantly, at the state and federal level. Right now, we are faced with the shifting evolution of healthcare, but it's more agile and innovative now than it has ever been and we can now get more access to care for patients. ARE THERE ANY RECENT PROJECTS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING ON TO CREATE REMARKABLE PATIENT EXPERIENCE? IF YES, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROCESS ELEMENTS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN LEVERAGING TO MAKE THAT PROJECT SUCCESSFUL?At Bassett, I have had the privilege to be a participant in our innovation committee. It observes variety of upcoming or established technologies in different innovations within the healthcare industry. We take a methodical approach to evaluating innovation strategies that helps enhance patient care, while simultaneously, easing the process of practicing for practitioners. It's a role I have been encouraged to take by my colleagues at Bassett and I'm grateful that the value in compliance is prominent. The innovation committee and I work collaboratively and approach healthcare compliance differently, with a shared commitment to getting it right the first time. We undertake a comprehensive assessment of potential compliance risks before progressing too far into any project. We recognize that such an approach is vital in ensuring that our innovative ideas successfully contribute to the healthcare industry, without being encumbered by unforeseen compliance concerns. We are evaluating innovative solutions in the market that enhance patient care and the way our practitioners practice, and we are looking at it through the lens of compliance, analyzing potential risks and looking for ways to mitigate them. This is an efficient approach and it is a testament to our chief innovation officer, who is committed to ensuring these methods are implemented.WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE TO THE FELLOW PEERS IN THE INDUSTRY?When you are in the compliance field, you have to get back to basics periodically and prioritize what is important. Compliance officers are challenged on a day-to-day basis with an influx of information coming in daily. Some data is little and some are big, and in such scenarios when we get back to the basics, it's easy for compliance programs to be effective. My strategy always, whether it's an organization I'm familiar with or uncharted territories, is to understand the basics and holding methods that are tried and true. Else, we can get caught up in a variety of topics and the implementation of compliance programs is neglected. We are evaluating innovative solutions in the market that enhance patient care and the way our practitioners practice, and we are looking at it through the lens of compliance, analyzing potential risks and looking for ways to mitigate them
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