Jefferson Introduces New Compliance Program

Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) has established a new compliance program under the direction of the Office of University Counsel designed to reduce the chance of illegal conduct and to detect any offenses in the event a legal violation should occur.

Ensuring compliance is the responsibility of every employee of the University and the Hospital, says Brent Saunders, JD, MBA, the University's Corporate Compliance Officer.

The University views the program as a logical extension of our mission to provide excellence in health care, education and research. It also enables Jefferson to address areas where violations of law, intentional or not, may occur.
TJU's compliance program makes provision for:

• A Code of Professional and Business Ethics
  
  
• High-level personnel to oversee compliance
  
  
• Communication of standards and procedures to all employees
  
  
• Training programs to reduce the prospect of wrongdoing
  
  
• Monitoring and auditing systems to ensure compliance
  
  
• Establishment of a Compliance Helpline to allow individuals to report violations confidentially
  
  
• Enforcement of standards through appropriate disciplinary mechanisms Thomas Jefferson University's Board of Trustees will supervise compliance program development and implementation, and guide development of high-level policies. The Corporate Compliance Officer in the Office of University Counsel will address day to-day program administration.

The establishment of the Corporate Compliance Program will minimize the University's legal risks by ensuring that Jefferson's employees, agents and contractors will not only be informed of all applicable laws, regulations, policies and procedures, but will follow them. In addition, the program enables efficient, effective communication with employees, agents and contractors.

If you have questions about the program, call Brent Saunders, JD, MBA, at 5-8585 or Lee McDaid, Corporate Compliance Coordinator, at 3-0797.

Compliance Helpline Is Confidential

Call the new Compliance Helpline at 1-888-5-COMPLY (1-888-526-6759) to confidentially report suspected violations of any laws, regulations, policies or procedures. The Compliance Administration Office will protect the anonymity of employees, physicians and others who use the hotline.