Background & Purpose

The best practices process in health care compliance is an initiative started by the Health Ethics Trust, a division of the Council of Ethical Organizations. The Health Ethics Trust is committed to enhancing ethical and legal conduct in health care organizations through shared resources, education programs and research.

The best compliance practices process is an important part of the Trust’s activities because it enhances knowledge and awareness about better practices in health care compliance. The specific goals of the best compliance practices process are:

• To build awareness of the importance of compliance in all sectors of the health care industry;
• To recognize organizational accomplishments with respect to best practices in health care compliance programs;
• To exchange information about what constitutes a best practice, and how to build one.

It is not the intention of the best compliance practices process to set prescriptive standards for the health care industry. Rather, the aim is to extend the boundaries of practical knowledge, to bring best compliance practices to a broader health care audience.

Currently, the best compliance practices process encompasses a number of activities. The most prominent of these is the Healthcare Best Compliance Practices Forum which was established in cooperation with the School of Public Health at UNC/Chapel Hill.

The Forum is an annual event that recognizes outstanding compliance performance in health care organizations. It also brings together health care compliance professionals and senior executives with heads of key government agencies and important industry groups and associations.

Health care organizations can nominate parts of their compliance, ethics or integrity program for recognition as a best practice at the Forum. Further information on the best compliance practices nominations process in given in subsequent sections of this web site.