As part of the Health Services Authority’s commitment to maintaining the highest ethical standards in all areas of its operations, a team including members of the board, senior leadership, section managers, supervisors and staff in sensitive areas underwent an intensive three-day fraud training programme organised by KPMG.
Held 29-31 October 2018, the training programme covered areas such as fraud risk management and assessment, procurement fraud, asset misappropriation, organizational ethics, implementation of an effective whistleblowing programme and detecting and deterring conflicts of interest.
Chief Executive Officer Lizzette Yearwood affirmed, “The broad representation of board, management and staff in the training reflects our organisation’s rigorous efforts towards complete and consistent compliance with statutory requirements in the HSA law, internal organisational policies and other local laws. We want to ensure that we conduct both business and patient care activities with the highest level of ethical behaviour.”
The training programme has better equipped employees to more readily identify, prevent or detect errors and potential fraudulent transactions and behaviours within the organisation. Furthermore, it has armed them with knowledge they need to strengthen the existing internal controls within the HSA.
The Authority has implemented several initiatives over the years to strengthen and enforce adherence to ethical practices. These initiatives include establishing a compliance department, strengthening internal functions and implementing internal policies and controls aligned with the Public Finance Management Law, Procurement Law and Public Authorities Law, establishing clearly defined performance conduct at all levels of the organisation and stringent penalties for non-compliance.
“We understand that one of the most important element in the prevention of healthcare fraud, abuse and non-compliance is the proper training and education of employees. As such, we are proud to have taken this proactive and comprehensive approach that will not only enhance the business operations of the organisation, but most importantly will improve the protection our patients, their identity and their health information,” HSA Board Chairman Jonathan Tibbetts stated.