By Anne Herman
There is more to be learned in Healthcare Compliance than one can possibly learn. All bases are not covered at all times – and we know it. With hundreds of thousands of pages of statutes and regulations that dictate the cans and cants, with ongoing modification and varying interpretation, it is an impossible goal. Yet we work and live and eat and sleep – another job; doing the best we can.
The moment I became a Compliance Officer, my life changed. I was cop, rescuer, calmer, and investigator. My job was far from my prior work of caring for patients … it was tending to the people who tend to patients. It was reminding the newly-hired registration clerk that his job does impact our ability to submit accurate claims. To clarify, with firmness, that the painting staff, if they witness potential conflict with a vendor hired to assist, they are obligated to report. The reality of risk lies at the feet of the front-line workforce just as much as with the executives who make key decisions. If front-line staff don’t get it – despite the tenacity and wisdom of the leaders, the risk of non-compliance skyrockets.
The job screams for strategy and priority-setting, as it is beyond the force of a valiant army to know all there is to know in a multi-entity system. It pleads for transparency without retaliation. It demands being attuned to intricate details always – always – always. Perhaps my father, then 82, was correct when he (in all seriousness) asked me, “What happened to your career!?” when I told him (with hidden pride) that I was moving from years as a Speech and Language Pathologist and Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs to assume The Regional Compliance Officer position for a large health system. I cowered and self-reflected, and then decided my father should do the same! I was pleasantly unknowing, but primed for challenge! I landed in a place that sounded good to my ear, but brought nothing but unanswered questions to my brain … like living in jungle; swimming with crocodiles and rainbow fish, and trying to stay alive. Some fear; some delight, but always swimming … without the best of life jackets!
I have raised five kids with only 8 years separating the youngest to oldest – surviving those child rearing years with very little in the way of formidable conflict or hair-raising stress. I own six adopted dogs. I train and certify them to bring comfort to those on the brink of death. I kayak rapids and I hiked to the top of Angel Falls in Zion National Park. And most harrowing: I stayed married to the same man for 30 years. Nice guy, but that is a lot of time to live life with someone (even myself)!
The magic of healthcare compliance, in the finite view from my one self, comes with interest and intrigue … the wizardry that is required to read a long governmental regulation on the need to reduce the number of healthcare regulations and feel the comfort of laughter dancing with ridiculous reality. It comes from the challenge of engaging disengaged staff and knowing where to lay the organizational eggs to appropriately manage risk. It is tenacity and creativity; professionalism and the ability to spark Workforce passion for similar things. It is guiding and not scaring, with a train track headed straight through Mission, Vision, and Ethics. Staff choose it because non-compliance with critical healthcare laws can derail an entire organization, its Mission, and its ability to serve those who are most fragile and so very much in need.
I love my work. I am not “the best”. I am not overly compensated. I am not working short hours or dealing with customers thrilled with my Compliance role. However, somewhere, swimming within me, is an ability to help many grasp and fervently cling to the need to be fair and astutely compliant in the work they perform. On paper, it doesn’t make sense. Soulfully, it does. Amidst fatigue and frustration, soar a bit of competence and much appreciation. As we know, most people seek a work life in healthcare to do right by others, not to defraud. I hold faith that I retain the ability to discern those who need guidance from those who attempt to avoid it – as fraud (processes set in place to illegally induce gain) is highly damaging. But fraud is reserved to the few, rather than the many.
Good-bye “easy”; So-long to shortened work hours; Audios to serenity and compensation that is often not comparable to non-healthcare colleagues. The gifts of ease and serene wealth are not wanted or expected. With knowledge that work-life balance trumps “all work”, and with a keen understanding that chaos does not equal productivity; I welcome the challenge for the fruits of the outcome. Engaged, yet imperfect Workforce (myself included) who hold Mission and Ethics high above financial gain – serving who may one day be “ourselves” with pride that healthcare is preventive and life-saving – each day; each hour; each minute; each second. United resourcefulness brings success. I am grateful for the many gifts of resource and knowledge provided by others who “took the line” on this challenge!
[clickToTweet tweet=”Rising to the call – Thoughts on a rewarding career in healthcare compliance @theHCCA” quote=”Rising to the Call – Thoughts on a rewarding career in healthcare compliance” theme=”style3″]