title: Designing compliance programs that foster ethical behavior.
abstract: The federal government continues to expand its initiatives to uncover healthcare fraud, waste, and abuse. It is therefore more important than ever that healthcare organizations have an effective compliance program in place. The organization should have a compliance officer with adequate authority and staff to carry out the compliance program's functions. The program should include an ethics code, an internal hotline that employees can use to report compliance concerns, and education and training for all employees. In addition, the program should be audited periodically to ensure its viability. To be successful, a compliance program also needs the support of the healthcare organization's senior management.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lovitky
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ahern
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D004648:Employee Grievances; D004991:Ethics, Institutional; D005376:Financial Management / Q000592:standards; D005607:Fraud / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D007344:Insurance Claim Reporting / Q000592:standards*; D008330:Management Audit; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics; D011367:Professional Staff Committees; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014481:United States