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Tenet Healthcare Corporation (Tenet Healthcare), a healthcare service based in Dallas, Texas, has finalized its agreement in principle with the US government to resolve the Clinica de la Mama criminal investigation and civil litigation, which involved referral source arrangements at three of Tenet’s former hospitals and one current hospital.
The settlement was reached with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the US Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, and the State Attorneys General for Georgia and South Carolina.
“The conduct in this matter was unacceptable and failed to live up to our high expectations for integrity,” said Trevor Fetter, chairman and CEO of Tenet.
“The relationships between the four hospitals and Clinica de la Mama violated the explicit requirements of our compliance program and were inconsistent with the strong culture of compliance we’ve worked hard to establish at Tenet. We take seriously our responsibility to operate our business in accordance with the highest ethical standards, every day and in every interaction.”
As part of Tenet’s commitment to strengthen safeguards and continually improve its compliance program, the company has amended and expanded existing policies related to referral source arrangements, including limiting the services that the company’s facilities purchase from referral sources.
Tenet is also implementing more rigorous standards in its vendor selection process, sharpening its audit and oversight activities, and instituting enhanced training for employees on referral source policy changes.
Tenet Healthcare, US, US government, Healthcare, Risk management, Clinica de la Mama, Investigation, Civil litigation, Department of Justice, Trevor Fetter
