Jennifer Kennedy (jenniferkennedy@barberinstitute.org) is Vice President, Governance, Risk Management & Compliance at Barber National Institute in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.
What does “being audit ready” mean? Is your organization 100% compliant all the time? Although it’s something compliance professionals don’t like to admit, the answer to that question is “no,” and honestly, 100% compliance is an unrealistic target.
Being audit ready is making sure that your organization is in the best possible position to undergo outside scrutiny. Every healthcare organization has a number of external parties that may conduct an audit. In my world, my organization can, and has, been audited by the Office of Inspector General, federal or state; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; state regulatory agencies for education, mental health, substance abuse, and intellectual disabilities/autism; private payers; the attorney general; the auditor general; and managed care organizations—to name just a few.
