Early Warning Systems in Risk ManagementChapter 6 of the Carroll (2009) textbook includes discussions on early warning systems that should be used to minimize risk. The chapter focuses on national organizations along with various state laws and examples of how such systems have impacted and reduced risk for many different health care organizations.

Investigate early warning systems in risk management. Pick a specific health care organization type (for example, hospital, emergency department, physician's office, laboratory, dental office, health plan). Describe at least two elements that would be needed for an effective early warning system for this specific health care organization.

PART 2

Evaluate Risk Management - Interview Compliance Officer

Risk management is also part of compliance for any organization.

Compliance programs are managed by risk managers or compliance officers. For this assessment, you should seek out and interview a risk manager or compliance officer for a local health care organization. You may choose a compliance officer from a hospital, physician's practice, health plan, skilled nursing facility, group home, or other similar health care organization. You will need to ensure that the organization that you choose has either a risk management or compliance department. There are likely some organizations that do not have this function. Smaller organizations may lack this critical piece in their organizational structure.

Interview a compliance officer. Go to the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) Web site to secure a job description that most closely resembles the type of compliance officer you will interview.

During the interview, ask this compliance officer open-ended questions such as: write your compliance office answer under each question

• What is the role of a compliance officer?
• What are the main areas of concern for you?
• What type of specific training have you had for this role?
• Do you participate in any type of ongoing training or professional organization?
• Do you have a strategic plan for compliance? What are the keys to this plan?
• What types of regulations are you most concerned about following?
• Have you had to report any issues of fraud or abuse in the past? If yes, to whom? What happened?
• What do you see as the future for compliance and compliance officers in health care?
• What are your largest liability concerns for this organization?

During this interview, identify at least one risk management issue that you will use as the basis for your final Unit 9 assessment that deals with organizational plan risk management. You may wish to ask the person you interview for a suggestion for this future assignment.

In a 2-3-page, APA-formatted paper, describe your interview findings. Compare and contrast the compliance officer's responses to the job description you found on the HCCA Web site. Evaluate whether you feel this current compliance officer is meeting the needs of the organization. What are possible areas of concern or areas for improvement? Make a recommendation of what you see as the next step for a compliance plan in this organization. Finally, did you identify any issues that might leave the organization or facility open to litigation or lawsuits? What would an appropriate plan or response be to any type of identified deficiency?