Compliance with healthcare regulations protects patients, safeguards employee safety, and maintains the security of electronic medical records (EMRs) and cyber networks. Ensuring compliance with critical regulations falls on the compliance officer. If you hold this position, you likely understand what’s at stake in protecting health information and preventing fraud, abuse, and adverse incidents.
This article reviews the roles and responsibilities of an officer overseeing an organization’s healthcare compliance activities. We also discuss the steps and best practices that can guide you on how to be a good compliance officer.
What Does a Compliance Officer Do?
A compliance officer working in a healthcare organization maintains oversight over all compliance activities and training. Moreover, this individual ensures that their hospital, private practice, or business complies with all federal, state, tribal, and other healthcare regulations regarding patient information protection, employee safety, and preventing waste, fraud, and abuse. Compliance officers also promote the importance of ethical behavior and help foster environments that encourage and appreciate compliant behaviors.
How to Be a Good Compliance Officer
Training is the foundation of how to be a good compliance officer. Compliance service providers like Compliancy Group provide compliance officer training that you can access through a centralized online platform. Such programs can prepare you with extensive knowledge of the following compliance issues:
- Fraud, waste, and abuse prevention
- Quality assurance methods
- Ethical billing practices
- Data security
- Protection of patient data and other sensitive information
Training also must cover critical compliance regulations that pertain to all healthcare providers, suppliers, and manufacturers:
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule mandates the protection of patients’ health information when qualified providers collect, store, share, and dispose of it.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Act upholds worker safety and well-being by setting working conditions and exposure standards and mandating safety training.
- SOC 2 is a framework that provides guidelines for how organizations prevent unauthorized access to patient data, security breaches, and other adverse incidents. SOC 2 utilizes the five criteria of security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
In addition to keeping up with training, the best compliance officers tend to exhibit the following characteristics:
- Good communication and persuasion skills
- Genuine enthusiasm for compliance issues and recognition of their benefits
- Strong belief in high ethical standards
- Detail orientation when it comes to the complexities of compliance regulations
- Strong leadership proficiencies
- Ability to work under pressure and strict deadlines
Software Support for Compliance Officers
Whether updating your training or streamlining your workflow, compliance software can be a powerful resource for how to be a compliance officer. For example, a comprehensive software package from Compliancy Group can help you track your training progress, access selected modules quickly, generate documentation verifying your successful completion, and send reminders for training renewals. Compliancy Group also provides access to advanced courses culminating in certifications and further professional development.
Compliance software can streamline how you oversee your organization’s compliance activities, including monitoring its compliance status for each set of regulations. Software also comes with an online platform with a dashboard where you can monitor employees’ training and other compliance practices. As a bonus, the best software automates many administrative functions, like sending training renewal reminders, generating and disseminating reports, and storing and sharing important documents and guidelines.
We understand the significance of how to be a good compliance officer. We provide software packages and other resources to help you do your job efficiently and successfully. Contact us today for more information on how our digital tools and services can support your organization’s compliance efforts.
