By Ken Bukowski/ Special to Healthcare Facilities Today

Healthcare administration and staff understand the importance of maintaining regulatory compliance. However, that understanding should not end with the medical team. It should extend to vendors and business partners as well, so that everyone on site can contribute to a facility’s commitment to regulatory compliance. 

Vendors without healthcare-specific experience may not be aware that all hospitals receiving Medicare or Medicaid payments are bound by federal law to operate under standards set forth by regulatory agencies. 

To be an effective part of your operations, your security team needs to understand, support and be an active contributor to your compliance efforts. Whether through access control, reporting or safety programs, a knowledgeable security team is a key component of any successful compliance initiative. 

For example, security officers regularly come into contact with protected health information (PHI). A well-trained security officer who understands the essentials of HIPAA regulations sees a box of discarded papers containing PHI near the trash dumpster and immediately reports it to hospital administration, potentially avoiding fines and/or a loss of accreditation for accidental disclosure. 

Or, a visitor is asked to leave the hospital for disruptive behavior and later returns seeking emergency medical treatment. A security officer who is aware of the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act knows that this person cannot be turned away, as that would be a violation of federal law. 

To ensure that your facility effectively utilizes a quality security program to help maintain regulatory compliance:

• Take all standards into consideration when developing your security program. 

• Choose a security provider with experience and expertise specific to your needs. 

• Ensure that your security provider is aware of your accreditation and regulatory standards. 

• Include your security provider in regulatory compliance trainings and integrate them fully into your compliance efforts. 

• Utilize your security provider as a resource to identify areas of potential risk and opportunities to improve. 

Bukowski is the vice president of healthcare, AlliedBarton Security Services.