The Sixth Annual National Congress on Health Care Compliance continues the national dialogue on the regulation of health care finance and delivery in the United States. This year the Congress focuses on new areas of special interest for the compliance professional, including corporate responsibility and governance; patient safety and quality of care; privacy, data security and HIPAA compliance; ethics; risk management; biosecurity; and the implications of health care cost containment for the compliance professional. The Congress will also feature representatives of all major governmental agencies, including, DHHS, FBI, DOJ, FTC, IRS and SEC, which regulate health care. Additionally, special sessions have been added to address emerging challenges of responding to assessing the effectiveness of compliance initiatives; implementing corporate integrity agreements; establishing policies and procedures to avoid qui tam litigation; integrating ethics into compliance programs; and adopting strategies for compliance with health care privacy, data security, Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) and HIPAA compliance.

The National Congress on Health Care Compliance has addressed the major challenges facing health care compliance professionals since 1998. Featured faculty have included the Secretary of HHS, the HCFA Administrator, the Acting HHS Inspector general and many other leading public and private sector investigatory, enforcement and prosecutorial officials. The Sixth Congress is proud to present a keynote address by Harvey V. Fineberg, MD, Ph.D., President, Institute of Medicine and former Provost, Harvard University, along with representatives of DHHS, FBI, DOJ, IRS and SEC. Sessions will update you in detail on current and future enforcement initiatives. Leading compliance professionals, including attorneys, consultants and compliance officers, will articulate responsive strategies and share benchmarks for best practices compliance programs.

Over the past year, the pace of health care enforcement initiatives and responsive compliance efforts have increased. Following the financial collapse of Enron, the conviction of Arthur Andersen, and the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley, corporate responsibility has become a crucial issue for health care organizations. The Congress will offer a special preconference session on the new drivers of corporate responsibility: Sarbanes-Oxley, NYSE listings standards and OIG compliance guidance. Medical error reduction and health care quality enhancement continue to be a matter of concern nationwide. The Congress will include sessions on the role of compliance professionals in addressing quality concerns. As compliance professions confront the new millennium, they confront numerous new challenges, ranging from the implications of international terrorism, through integration of ethical concerns into compliance regimes, to the challenge of compliance with new regulation of health care privacy and data security in the form of GLB and HIPAA. The Congress will feature a special presentation by Donald A. (Andy) Purdy, Jr., Deputy to the Vice Chair, Senior Advisor, IT Security and Privacy, The President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, The White House, regarding cybersecurity. The Congress will also focus on HIPAA compliance strategies. The Congress will feature a plenary presentation by Dr. Bill Braithwaite, popularly know as Dr. HIPAA, regarding the status of federal and state regulatory initiatives regarding health care privacy and data security. The Congress will convene governmental and health care industry experts to collectively tackle the issues which you will face in the coming year, and to help you arm yourself and your organization to meet these challenges. You will find answers through peer discussion, informative presentations and the best compliance networking environment.

• To Provide an Overview of the Various Federal and State Laws and Regulations Applicable to Health Care Finance and Delivery in the United States
• To Identify and Assess New Arenas for the Compliance Professional, including Corporate Responsibility and Governance; Patient Safety and Quality of Care; Privacy, Data Security and HIPAA Compliance; Ethics; Risk Management; Biosecurity; and Health Care Cost Containment
• To Analyze the Bench Mark Approaches to Compliance Strategies in Health Care
• To Investigate the Preeminent Technology and IS Solutions for Health Care Compliance
• To Identify Strategies for Cooperation and Coordination among Compliance Officers, Ethics Officers, Privacy Officers, Security Officers and Legal Counsel
• To Share through Case Studies the Experiences of Successful Health Care Compliance Programs