We have a corporate compliance department headed by a corporate compliance officer, who is also an experienced health care attorney. The hospital's corporate compliance committee includes 10 senior officers who meet monthly to discuss regulatory changes and compliance initiatives. We have an internal audit department with a staff of six, who actively focus an increasing amount of time on Medicare-related compliance issues. Northwestern employs several outside consultants to help us prepare for review by HCFA and other agencies. Besides the known expense of time and resources, burdensome regulations incur hidden costs - a prime example being the toll they take on employee morale.
People choose to work at hospitals because they want to help others.
The current regulatory environment buries dedicated employees in bureaucratic paperwork. In today's tight job market and shrinking caregiver workforce, we face employee exodus to jobs that involve less red tape and hold the potential for greater job satisfaction. Constantly training and educating new staff in the intricacies of these burdensome regulations is another hidden cost that hospitals must bear. Many regulations contribute to our efforts to provide quality patient care, but others simply drain resources away from that goal, placing a financial strain on providers. Madam Chairman, we all agree the health care industry should be regulated.