CRMC In Good Shape With Federal Compliance

The news has been good one year into Cookeville Regional’s five-year agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services.

CRMC Compliance Officer Paula Duty says the hospital has received strong reviews from the Office of Inspector General. The office oversees compliance with all federal health care program requirements. Thursday night, the board passed a resolution that it believes the medical center has met all its obligations to federal guidelines.

“I think overall, we we do have a strong compliance program,” Duty said. “I think that over the next few years, certainly after we receive back our first report from the Independent Review Board, a review organization this year, we will likely have some education to learn from that. And we’ll be able to strengthen that program even further, mostly in regards to the contracts going forward.”

Duty said the contract insight involves doctors, vendors, and outside sources.

“Making sure that everyone has has reviewed and approved that needs to on the front end and then that it’s tracked appropriately for renewal and payments and that type of thing on the back end,” Duty said.

Contract management software in place at CRMC will help with that process, Duty said.

Board Member Danny Rader said he was pleased the hospital was already doing what the federal agency was looking for.

“I really appreciate Paula and all the work that you’ve done over the last year to do all this,” Rader said. And I’m really pleased to hear that all of the things that or so many of the things that they’ve asked for the hospital to do that we were really already doing. And that made me feel good.”

Cookeville Regional entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General in February of 2020.