Earn CEU credit Cathy Garrey, Connect with your - Health Care ...

Meet Rita A. Scichilone ...continued from page 15
bring to the workplace with employees of
the organization How about with management
and the governing authority of the
organization
CG: My supervisors have expressed appreciation
for my CHC certification. They have
confidence that when I say to them that we
need to develop a new compliance tool or add
something to our quality checklists, I have
a good reason. My supervisor told me that
although the Mental Health Board has always
been concerned about compliance, prior to
my joining the organization no one had this
level of certification. He and the executive
director have been supportive as we develop
our compliance program. The MHB Board of
Directors attends training sessions on compliance
during the national conferences they
attend. They, too, are supportive, and recently
they approved a new compliance position to
enhance our program.
GI: Would you recommend that your
fellow compliance professionals seek CHC
certification If so, why What did you do to
become eligible for the CHC, and how did
you prepare for the certification exam
CG: I would certainly recommend that
compliance professionals seek the CHC. As
the government sends out more auditing
groups, certification is going to become
increasingly important, because CHC provides
a comprehensive base for learning about
compliance. Additionally, certification boosts
credibility, not only for compliance professionals,
but also for the organizations that
employ them.
To be eligible for certification, a person
must be an active compliance professional
and meet the guidelines presented in the
CHC handbook. Before deciding to work for
certification, I became quite familiar with the
HCCA website. The more familiar I became
with the information on the website, the
more I realized the value of CHC.
The certification exam was quite extensive.
Before the test, I read everything available on
the HCCA website; I scoured the Internet
for information on compliance; I looked at
federal OIG guidelines on health care compliance;
and I brushed up on HIPAA information.
I attended the academy the week
before the test. Those attending the academy
attended classes during the day, and continued
to review and read the material on our
own into the evenings. On the day before the
test, we finished at noon and continued to
study through the evening.
When you sit through that exam, and then
finally learn that you have passed it, you can
be proud. When I got that letter informing
me that I passed the exam and earned certification,
I was happy, proud, and relieved.
GI: Please tell us how compliance and
quality are managed in your organization,
since you are the Compliance and Quality
Assurance Manager for McHenry County
Mental Health Board.
CG: At the Mental Health Board, we
have a strong Leadership Team that meets
bi-weekly. During these meetings, we discuss
risk issues, compliance issues, and set a
course of action to resolve any problems that
we have. If specific issues arise that require
immediate action, those in the need to know
are informed of the problem. Decisions are
made and acted upon by the Leadership
Team, which monitors the situation to ensure
that the problem gets resolved.
Staff members come to me, as the compliance
officer, with questions and concerns,
and I confer with the deputy director, executive
director, or legal counsel as needed for
resolution. In addition, as the compliance
officer, I do have access to the board of directors,
and the executive director reports to the
board on a monthly basis.
The McHenry County Mental Health
Board is unique in that we provide
coordination and access to services; we also
fund agencies to provide treatment services.
This means that we not only have to ensure
that we are in compliance with all funding
requirements, but we also have to be
sure that our funded agencies comply with
federal, state, and county funding requirements,
including coordination of benefits.
As Compliance Officer, I conduct internal
as well as external audits. As a funder, the
Mental Health Board has an obligation to
the constituents of the county to ensure that
quality services are provided.
GI: Do you believe the quality of health
care in an organization is a compliance issue
CG: I absolutely believe that quality of
health care is a compliance issue. When
I conduct audits of providers, I am very
aware of the types of services provided, and
the quality of care that is extended to the
populations that are served. Many of our
organizations utilize an outside firm to collect
discharge satisfaction data, and when we
receive a call that someone is dissatisfied, that
information is followed up on immediately.
I also receive calls from individuals who are
unhappy with services they are receiving from
providers. These complaints are documented
and followed up on, and if need be, we bring
the client and the team together to resolve the
problem.
GI: What advice would you give to
someone just starting out as a compliance
professional and setting up a compliance
program
CG: The first bit of advice I would offer
is to ask questions. Reach out to other
compliance professionals in the specific field
and seek their input. Know that one person
does not have to reinvent the wheel. Others
have developed policies and procedures,
compliance programs, and risk management
plans. Read as much information as possible
October 2008
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Health Care Compliance Association • 888-580-8373 • www.hcca-info.org