Compliance Update: Launching the CAO Compliance Program
By Susan Walberg, CAO Compliance Officer
There are a number of activities going on related to the development of the CAO Compliance Program.
First of all, CAO will soon be implementing a Compliance Hotline. The Compliance Hotline is a resource for all employees to use for raising concerns or issues, even anonymously, and is managed by a third-party vendor. A Compliance Hotline is an expected component of a Compliance Program and provides employees with an extra channel, outside of their normal reporting structure, to raise concerns. The Compliance Officer will be responsible for managing the hotline and will identify the appropriate person at the Division level to work with to verify and resolve any issues. Once the hotline is in place each CAO location will have a poster and other communications providing the hotline number and website information.
CAO is also working to identify resources to improve processes relating to Human Resources management. CAO is looking at purchasing the services of a company that provides a standardized Human Resources Information System to streamline processes, including employment applications, evaluations, and time off requests. The Employee Benefits and Personnel Management Committee and the Leadership Team has seen one demonstration so far, and the tools available were well received. There will be additional updates once a decision is made.
Lastly, we are talking to vendors about an Information Security Risk Assessment, and related HIPAA and Meaningful Use compliance tools and resources. Similar to the Human Resources tool above, CAO could benefit from a standardized and automated process, and from uniform policies, to help create a consistent state of compliance with minimal development effort needed by the CAO Division or Corporate employees. The Information Security Risk Assessment will be conducted to identify, at the Division level, where there may be systems or processes that inadvertently create security risks for CAO.
There are a number of other activities going on, and we will keep you informed as they move forward. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the CAO Compliance Officer, Susan Walberg, at 301-256-5010.