Voluntary Healthcare Compliance Programs Imperative For Providers Of All Sizes

Authoritative CCH Products Span Spectrum of Compliance Responsibilities

(RIVERWOODS, ILL., June 8, 2000) – Focusing for the first time on individuals’ responsibility to conduct voluntary compliance measures to prevent fraud and abuse in government health programs, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued draft healthcare compliance guidance yesterday for physicians in solo or small group practices. The OIG’s continued emphasis on the existence of an effective compliance program as a mitigating factor in fraud and abuse cases should make it clear to all providers – whatever your size or resources, you must have a program in place to address the risks inherent to your business, according to CCH INCORPORATED (CCH), a leading provider of health law and compliance information and training.

To help providers of all sizes create and maintain a culture of compliance and minimize the risk of violations, CCH offers the definitive compliance resources CCH® Healthcare Compliance™ Portfolio and ComplianceEdge.

"While the OIG recognizes the special challenges small and solo practitioners will face in creating effective compliance programs, they are not prepared to look the other way when it comes to violations of the law," said CCH healthcare law specialist Daniel J. Weissburg, Esq.

In fact, Weissburg noted, the basic elements of a successful compliance program identified by the OIG for Individual and Small Group Physician Practices are the same as those identified in previous issuances that applied to hospitals, nursing facilities, third-party medical billing companies and others. Those elements include having written policies, procedures and standards of conduct; developing effective training and education; operating internal monitoring and auditing; and reacting promptly to detected offenses and developing corrective steps.

"But, as even large organizations with designated compliance professionals know, the healthcare compliance environment can be a minefield, and the effort needed to identify and comply with a wide range of federal and state requirements is considerable," said Weissburg.

CCH’s Definitive Compliance Resources Help Protect Providers of All Sizes

To help providers of all sizes create and maintain a culture of compliance and minimize the risk of violations, CCH covers the spectrum of compliance responsibilities with its definitive compliance resources: CCH® Healthcare Compliance™ Portfolio and the interactive web-based training ComplianceEdge.

CCH Healthcare Compliance Portfolio

CCH Healthcare Compliance Portfolio comprises three distinct, authoritative services that offer a total compliance information system designed to help physicians, hospitals and other healthcare organizations implement effective compliance programs.

The Portfolio includes the CCH Healthcare Compliance Reporter, providing instant access to the full-text of the law; the CCH Healthcare Compliance Guide, offering practical, hands-on information; and the cutting edge news and perspectives of the CCH Healthcare Compliance Letter.

Helping to protect compliance professionals and their organizations against potential violations, the CCH Healthcare Compliance Reporter on the Internet, online and CD-ROM provides immediate access to fully searchable primary source information, including the full-text of all relevant laws, regulations, cases, advisory opinions and more on the federal and state levels.

OIG Model Compliance Plans and other sample compliance plans offer insight and step-by-step guidance for creating effective compliance plans.

Designed to work seamlessly with the Reporter, the CCH Healthcare Compliance Guide is a key desk reference featuring proven compliance strategies and solutions to critical compliance problems, valuable planning aids, model compliance plans and practical advice. The Guide provides plain-English, expert insights on legislative and regulatory matters and no-nonsense guidance on applying laws and regulations. The Guide, as part of the CCH Healthcare Compliance Portfolio, is available via Internet, online or CD-ROM. As a stand-alone product, the Guide is available as a single-volume print reference.

Completing the Portfolio, the CCH Healthcare Compliance Letter provides timely reporting and practical strategies to keep compliance professionals on top of the full range of emerging compliance topics. The Letter delivers breaking news of developments in the legislative, regulatory and judicial arenas, "insider" tips and techniques, insight and analysis from compliance professionals on the frontline and trend information and alerts – all in a format designed to help busy professionals get the news they need fast.

ComplianceEdge Interactive Training

A new interactive web-based healthcare compliance training tool, ComplianceEdge (www.complianceedge.com), is the definitive compliance training solution, delivering to the desktop CCH’s authoritative healthcare compliance law analysis and Ernst & Young’s world-class educational training and healthcare consulting.

The distance training capability is highly convenient and cost effective – since ComplianceEdge is Internet-based, it can be accessed any time from anywhere a user has browser capabilities. Delivered to the desktop, ComplianceEdge also reduces classroom time and allows flexibility in the choice of training environment.

ComplianceEdge Internet-based program efficiently reaches a wide range of healthcare personnel – from coding clerks to top executives – and provides detailed coverage of compliance responsibilities at each functional level. The distance training capability is efficient and cost-effective, especially for hospital systems with multiple locations and employees on multiple shifts.

ComplianceEdge provides freestanding, self-paced lessons that can be taken over time. Each lesson, which takes about an hour to complete, includes a pre-test to assess the user’s starting level of knowledge, the actual lesson on compliance requirements in specific areas and a post-test to assess comprehension upon completion.

Well-documented training is critical for providers to demonstrate a commitment to compliance and, with this in mind, ComplianceEdge generates comprehensive, customizable reports.

The Hospital Series was the first training segment released by ComplianceEdge, with comprehensive coverage of compliance issues relating to hospitals and ancillary providers often owned or operated by hospitals. Upcoming series include Physicians, Managed Care and Pharmacy.

For More Information About CCH Healthcare Compliance Portfolio

For more information, to order the CCH Healthcare Compliance Portfolio or to order the Reporter, Guide or Letter separately, contact your CCH representative at 888 CCH REPS or visit the CCH web site at http://health.cch.com.

For More Information About ComplianceEdge

For more information on ComplianceEdge, contact Daniel J. Weissburg at CCH at (847) 267-2145, Ernst & Young Product Sales at (800) 726-7339, or visit the ComplianceEdge web site at www.complianceedge.com for more information and an online product demonstration.

About CCH INCORPORATED

CCH INCORPORATED, headquartered in Riverwoods, Ill., was founded in 1913 and has served generations of business professionals and their clients. For more than 50 years, the company has regularly tracked, reported, explained and analyzed health and entitlement law for healthcare providers, insurers, attorneys and consumers. CCH is the premier provider of Medicare and Medicaid information and publishes the industry standards, the CCH Medicare and Medicaid Guide and the CCH Healthcare Compliance Portfolio. CCH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer U.S. The CCH web site can be accessed at www.cch.com. The CCH Health web site can be accessed at http://health.cch.com.

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