Compliance as Competitive Advantage: Boost Your Practice in 2024
In the ever-changing scenario of healthcare regulation, staying in front of changing rules and regulations and unlocking your compliance skills is a great challenge for healthcare payers. Increasing the reactive approach and proactively identifying regulatory risks in their early stages is imperative.
Healthcare systems and workplaces present challenges and opportunities for enhancing employee well-being and delivering high-quality, affordable care. The declining health status of the US population has implications for employees, their families, and employers' attempts for a healthy, high-performing workforce. Depending on their design and participation, workplace wellness programs have shown varying impacts on health and medical costs. Changes in healthcare structure, driven by Healthcare Acts, have increased transformation in the healthcare system.
Despite challenges, the shared values of compassion, service, evidence, and excellence in healthcare can be leveraged to promote healthier employees, align with organizational missions, and enhance business performance. Healthy and engaged employees contribute to high-value medical care, providing a competitive advantage in a consolidating and personnel-shortage era.
Numerous healthcare marketers are increasingly utilizing Business Associate Agreements to establish a legal relationship between themselves, as HIPAA-covered entities, and third-party technology tools and software that may have access to Protected Health Information (PHI) during their activities. This agreement is specifically crafted to guarantee comprehensive patient PHI protection.
A great strategy must be followed to ensure proper compliance run:
Assigned Compliance Officer:
Appoint a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) with the complete authority and resources to use, execute, and supervise the compliance program. This individual ensures sticking to regulatory requirements and developing a culture of compliance throughout the organization.
Providing correct training to Employees:
Ensure employees comprehensively understand their roles and responsibilities in maintaining compliance. This includes knowledge of keeping patient information privacy, ethical billing practices, and awareness of reporting mechanisms in case of potential compliance violations.
Withholding a great Compliance Reporting System:
Establish a transparent reporting system, such as hotlines or anonymous reporting mechanisms, to solve compliance-related issues correctly.
Proper Ensuring Cybersecurity Rules to Follow:
Ensuring great security measures like encryption, access controls, and periodic security audits to safeguard electronic health records and sensitive information from unauthorized access or any breaches in data.
Secure Telemedicine Services:
Implement secure telemedicine platforms and encryption protocols, and adhere to HIPAA-compliant telehealth practices to ensure compliance while delivering remote care. This will unlock your compliance skills in a safer environment.
Utilize a Compliant Talent Acquisition Process:
Institute a compliant talent acquisition process incorporating thorough background checks, license and credential verifications, and adherence to equal employment opportunity guidelines.
Develop Clear Policies:
Establish clear and comprehensive policies and procedures covering all facets of healthcare compliance. These policies unlock your compliance skills and should be easily accessible, routinely reviewed, and updated to reflect changes in regulations or organizational practices.
Conduct Regular Compliance Audits:
Execute periodic compliance audits to assess program effectiveness, identify areas for improvement, and ensure ongoing adherence to regulatory requirements. Audits should encompass internal reviews, assessments of documentation and procedures, and external audits if deemed necessary.
