Compliance's new frontier: The quality movement

by Joette P. Derricks, MPA, CPC, CHC, CMPE

In the past few years, the compliance industry has received several powerful reports from organizations such as the National Institute of Health, the National Institute of Medicine, and others addressing the injuries and deaths associated with medical errors and inadequate quality of care.

Quality in compliance cases

Hospital and physician cases prosecuted by the DOJ under failure to provide appropriate quality of care include the 2003 United Memorial Hospital case, which resulted in a deferred prosecution agreement for inadequate quality related to anesthesia and pain management services. Concerns included the volume of patients treated, a lack of sterile technique, a lack of improvement among patients, and patient complaints.