Key takeaways from Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson’s Keynote Address at the 2016 HCCA Compliance Institute
Levinson kicked off HCCA’s 20th year anniversary conference with a remarkable speech addressing the importance of compliance in healthcare. He emphasized how mature the compliance field has become and compared compliance to Nashville’s very own Athens of The South – the Parthenon.
“This conference has annually been called an institute, but I think of it now as an institution,” said Levinson. “An institute is formed for a specific purpose, whereas an institution has more gravitas and more purpose. There is a seriousness of purpose to an institution.”
Levinson captures that “gravitas” and that “purpose” by comparing the healthcare compliance world to the classic 2,000 year old Parthenon where each column represents the different disciplines required to actually creating a compliant culture. With one column actually being the compliance office itself, one being billing or coding, one clinical expertise, one administrative staff and one representing technology.
“Each column stands to create that structure of permanence and solidity that is required for a healthcare institution.”
As we all know, the classic Parthenon is severely damaged – it is blown to pieces. Levinson says this just goes to show there is always risk in healthcare institutions. There will always be people who will either intentionally or thoughtlessly blow up institutions. Instead, Levinson shows the majestic Athens of The South on the screen that resides in Nashville, Tenn. (Which just happens to also be the healthcare capitol)
“The compliance community is truly committed to doing everything we can to make sure healthcare institutions don’t blow up. We are in the business of building, maintaining and enhancing healthcare institutions.”
We love Nashville, and think of it as the Healthcare Capital. With reference to the Parthenon and what its pillars stand for, in the opinion of Daniel Levinson, all roads do lead to healthcare compliance – in Nashville!
Watch the whole video for more thoughts from Levinson! He touches on the most important aspects of building a strong healthcare institution, the OIG’s enforcement when compliance fails, top issues in healthcare that underscores the importance of compliance, the evolution of compliance and thoughts for the future.
“Ultimately healthcare institution depend upon the people and work across all disciplines to make sure we are getting the job done.”
Written by Michael Rosen, ESQ
ProviderTrust Co-Founder, mrosen@providertrust.com
Michael brings over 20 years of experience founding and leading risk mitigation businesses, receiving numerous accolades such as: Inc Magazine’s Inc 500 Award and Nashville Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year
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