Doug Hastings, a Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences Practice at the Firm's Washington, DC office, was quoted in an October 4, 2007, article in the Report on Medicare Compliance about the HHS Office of Inspector General's initiatives to ensure high-quality medical care and fiscal integrity among providers, and to crack down on fraud.
The article, "HHS's OIG Steps Up Enforcement of Quality of Care," noted that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has embarked on a series of initiatives to address these areas of concern.
"With emerging quality issues, there is lots of activity around monitoring and reporting health outcomes," said Hastings, referring to a current focus on the roles played by company boards.
"We are at a unique time," Hastings added. "There is an opportunity for leadership from the board," and for positive change.
Hastings said that while boards should make an effort to improve quality, this will cost money and require effort to accept transparency.