Are You Big Enough to Care?

Are you big enough to care? Or better put, are you big enough to need to care about having a compliance program? Such a worthwhile question now that we’ve started a new year. A typical answer I get is, “sure, I’d love to have a solid compliance program here. But compliance is really a big company thing. We’re way too small to even need a program, let alone a big one.”

Right and wrong. So wrong. Yes, big companies should have, and thankfully usually do have, a compliance program commensurate with their size (measured by revenues, employees, locations, etc.) However, that is not to say that small companies, even a solo physician practice, shouldn’t have something. The operative question is, can I afford to be totally blindsided, possibly severely, especially by a risk that could’ve been prevented, or at least mitigated?

Common sense shouts a resounding “no”! Every organization, indeed every person, has their own subjective sense of what constitutes sufficient benefit for cost expended, as informed by their risk tolerance. Personally, I am a middle-of-the-road guy.

So I say, or shout, “do something!” And let me be perfectly clear: “something” does not mean developing an expensive, excessive, impractical program. How about evaluating (at a depth right for your size) what your key risks are? Developing a program to make sure you’re generally complying with your obligations? Training your staff so that their eyes are open if things start to slip? These things are just the essential components of not being a reckless adult.

I don’t want to get preachy so forgive me if I come across that way. But I am a true believer that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Old adages become old because experience brings wisdom. The fact is, every healthcare company, regardless of size, should do something for compliance. And that something should at least be significant enough to matter. Meaning it wouldn’t raise the eyebrows of reasonable, prudent people.

Healthcare compliance, for companies big and small, is what I do. If any of what I said here stirs you then I hope you’ll reach out to me. Let’s get 2018 started on the right foot…together!

Reid is the Consultant/Principal at MyComplianceOfficer.net. He can be reached at 770.235.7547 or reid@mycomplianceofficer.net.