Question: You are the very first compliance officer at a hospital system comprised of four hospitals and seven physician offices. The hospital system has a non-profit status. The chairman of the board wants to know more about your role and what you will be accomplishing for the hospital system. More importantly, he is very concerned about possible liability both enterprise wide and personal in nature. The Chairman also serves as the chief surgeon of the hospital system. Other members of the board include the COO, CEO, Attorney, an anesthesiologist, an oncologist, an accountant and a nurse manager.
1. Create an outline for the duties as a compliance officer and Make the case that you should report to the Board of Directors.
2. Create a list of sources for future use: the CFR section, a law review article, links to federal websites, stakeholder associations for hospitals, one hospital website that describes their compliance program, a white paper or journal article and a news article.