St. Mary's Medical Center is committed to delivering high quality health care services in compliance with all applicable rules, regulations and standards. Our commitment stems from our core values of Compassion, Hospitality, Reverence, Interdependence, Stewardship, and Trust. This commitment was reinforced by the establishment of the SMMC Corporate Compliance Program in 1999, which ensures that the health care needs of our patients and community are continuously met in a lawful and ethical manner.
The Corporate Compliance Program addresses the prevention and detection of possible violations of law or policy through the auditing and monitoring of its operations. The SMMC Corporate Compliance Office also provides educational programs regarding compliance issues to all employees and conducts investigations of allegations of wrong-doing or non-compliance with applicable federal and state laws and SMMC policies and rules. SMMC also ensures that appropriate disciplinary or corrective action is taken to address compliance concerns.
The cornerstone of the Compliance Program is the SMMC Standards of Conduct which address compliance in the areas of patient care, human resources, coding and billing, protection of property, conflicts of interest, and health and safety. The Standards of Conduct also outlines the process which employees may follow if they have a compliance concern or question.
To be successful, the Corporate Compliance Program requires the participation of every person acting on behalf of SMMC. These individuals are expected to follow the Standards of Conduct, SMMC policies and procedures and all applicable laws and regulations.