On September 30, 2016, Tenet Health System Medical, Inc., the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia entered into a Non-Prosecution Agreement regarding the investigation of the Clinica de la Mama matters. The policy outlines the terms of the agreement in order for us to comply with the requirements outlined in the Non-Prosecution Agreement.
Ethics and Compliance Program
- Our ethics and compliance program is outlined in Tenet’s Quality, Compliance and Ethics Program Charter which is in place to prevent and detect violations of the Anti-Kickback and Stark Laws, and related advisory opinions, other laws and regulations to Tenet’s operations.
Compliance Monitorship
- Monitorship of Tenet’s compliance with the agreement is in place to reduce the risk of Anti-Kickback and Stark Laws violations. To maintain independence of the Monitor, Tenet employees may not employ or affiliate with the Monitor for any work or discuss potential future employment or engagement with the Monitor for up to two years after the Monitor’s term expires. Contact Tenet’s Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel for questions and to ensure an interaction is not prohibited.
Public Statements
- Tenet has accepted responsibility for the conduct described in the Non-Prosecution Agreement and no person may contradict the acceptance of responsibility on behalf of Tenet. Any public statements about the Clinica resolution require approval from the U.S. Department of Justice and as such, any statement released to the public or press requires approval from the Tenet General Counsel, Tenet Chief Compliance Officer and Tenet Senior Vice President of Public Affairs.
Government Investigations
- Tenet will cooperate in investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice or U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Any notice of a government investigation or inquiry that is received by Tenet entities must be sent to Tenet’s General Counsel for Government Litigation and the facility’s Compliance Officer.
Reporting
- Employees are required to immediately report all actual or potential violations of the Anti-Kickback Law, Stark Law and state self-referral laws. Reports may be made to your supervisor, department director, Hospital or Facility Compliance Officer, Regulatory or Operations Counsel, Tenet’s Chief Compliance Officer or through the Ethics Action Line (EAL). The Compliance or Law Department reviews and escalates reports as appropriate to Tenet’s Reportable Events Review Committee (RERC) in order to determine if the matter needs to be reported to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Acquisitions & Divestitures
- Advanced notice of any proposed acquisition of a non-Tenet entity or divestiture (e.g., sell, merge, transfer, corporate form change) must be made to the Tenet Chief Compliance Officer and Tenet General Counsel. Notice of proposed acquisitions should be at least 30 days in advance and divestitures at least 60 days in advance. The advanced notification period allows us sufficient time to determine whether:
- Obligations of the non-prosecution agreement need to be implemented or continue after the transaction
- Language of the non-prosecution agreement needs to be included in the transaction agreement
- Thirty days advance written notice needs to be provided to the U.S. Department of Justice prior to undertaking the transaction