2019 Compliance Office Staffing Levels
30% of organizations report having a compliance office staff of one part-time or full-time person
The OIG compliance guidance notes that, for a compliance program to evidence effectiveness, the compliance office must be adequately staffed and provided with budgetary resources that allow it to meet its objectives. Compliance Officers’ roles and responsibilities are evolving beyond the OIG’s original compliance guidance, and most Compliance Officers have had other responsibilities added to their list, particularly related to HIPAA Privacy and Internal Audit. In the soon to be released national healthcare “2019 Compliance Benchmark Survey” (Survey) conducted by Strategic Management Services and SAI Global, data was gathered with respect to the adequacy of resources for Compliance Officers to meet this challenge. The results for this resource focused question suggest that many compliance offices are likely operating with less than fully adequate resources to meet their obligations. Two-thirds of participating respondents reported having a compliance office staff of five or less. Results from the Survey respondents regarding compliance office staff size include the following:
- 30% report having only one full-time or part-time staff member.
- 35% report having between two and five office members versus 40% reporting these levels last year.
- 21% report having six or more staff members compared to 25% reporting these levels last year.
The “2019 Compliance Benchmark Survey” report will be available without charge at the upcoming HCCA conference in Boston, at the Strategic Management Services Booth #420.
