Home Health & Hospice Week

Key: You can’t ignore non-compliant staffers.

Once you and your staff decide to embrace what the HHS Office of Inspector General calls “a culture of compliance,” there are some things you want to include in your compliance plan. Take a look at these 10 dos and don’ts to follow when updating or adopting a new compliance program:

1. Do educate your staff on compliance and HIPAA.
2. Do seek legal counsel if clarification is needed about the laws before writing up policies.
3. Don’t forget to make the written standards clear and concise.
4. Do hire or designate a compliance officer to implement and enforce the policies.
5. Do be an example for your staff, keeping the compliance lines of communication open. (Remember, the alternative may be costly whistleblower lawsuits.)
6. Don’t leave out a compliance monitoring system.
7. Do an annual audit to ensure you and your staff members are following the rules.
8. Don’t overlook the importance of compliance-ready electronic health records and training your staff on how to use them.
9. Do discipline or dismiss staff who don’t comply.
10. Don’t let your guard down now that you have a compliance plan.