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Corporate Compliance

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Corporate Compliance

Samaritan’s Corporate Compliance Office can be reached at 315-779-5170 or call the toll-free anonymous hotline at 1-877-740-7070

Please understand that these complaints are for concerns regarding policy violations, HIPAA/privacy issues, theft, and unethical behavior.  If you have a concern regarding a bill, recent visit, or patient complaint, please contact the Patient Relations Department.

Examples of Compliance concerns are:

  • Theft on the units, break rooms, locker rooms
  • Suspicion of personnel accessing EMR inappropriately
  • Breach of patient confidentiality
  • Password sharing
  • Suspected fraud, waste, or abuse in regards to billing and coding


Submit a Corporate Compliance Concern Online



CORPORATE COMPLIANCE POLICY

PURPOSE

It is the policy of Samaritan Medical Center (hereinafter referred to as “SMC”) to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, both civil and criminal, as well as those pertaining to SMC as a tax-exempt, charitable institution. In addition to complying with the law, it is also the policy of SMC to comply with the compliance code of conduct and applicable policies addressing standards of conduct, which are adopted from time to time by the Board or a committee thereof, the Chief Executive Officer or the Compliance Committee.

SUMMARY

This policy is intended to communicate current provisions regarding compliance. The Board reserves the right to change, modify, or waive all provisions herein. If any employee has a question concerning a particular provision contained herein or concerning any practice not addressed in this document, he or she should consult with the Compliance Officer.

POLICY

No employee, agent or medical staff appointee of SMC has any authority to act contrary to the provisions of the laws, the code of conduct or applicable policies addressing standards of conduct or to authorize, direct or condone violations by any other employee, agent or medical staff appointee.

Any employee, agent or medical staff appointee of SMC who has knowledge of activities that he or she believes may violate the law or SMC’s compliance code of conduct and/or applicable policies has an obligation, promptly after learning of such activities, to report the matter to his or her immediate supervisor, the Chief Executive Officer or the Compliance Officer. Reports may be made anonymously and employees will not be penalized for truthful reports. Failure to report known violations, failure to detect violations due to negligence or reckless conduct and making false reports shall be grounds for disciplinary action, including termination. Any reports of harassment or other workplace-related problems shall be referred to Human Resources.

SMC communicates its standards and procedures to all employees and agents, including Trustees, through mandatory training programs and by dissemination of information that explains, in a practical manner, what is required. This includes dissemination of the Statement of Commitment to Corporate Compliance as well as an Acknowledgment of Education by each employee. Compliance policies and procedures are also available on SMC’s intranet.

SMC achieves compliance with its standards by utilizing monitoring and auditing systems reasonably designed to detect errors or misconduct by its employees and agents and by having in place and publicizing a reporting system whereby employees, medical staff and other agents can report errors or misconduct by themselves or others within the organization without fear of retribution.

Employees, agents or medical staff appointees may report potential compliance issues to the Compliance Officer by phone, email, mail, or face-to-face. SMC utilizes a hotline to report compliance issues for those who wish to remain anonymous. The Compliance Officer has an obligation to act on all reported issues. Unresolved issues are taken to the highest authority in the organization for resolution.

After a violation has been detected, SMC will take all reasonable steps to respond appropriately according to the Complaint Policy. Modifications to systems and processes may be necessary to prevent and detect future violations.

This Corporate Compliance Policy will be consistently enforced through the Corrective Action Policy.

RELATED POLICIES – Please contact our Corporate Compliance Office for these related policies.

Revised Date: 07/27/2009
Review Date: 10/01/2012