Conflict of Interest

vicrhall

Hi. This is my first time using the forum. I am the HR Director and Practice Administrator for a large physician practice. I have been in my current position for 4 years. Prior to my being employed, the physicians hired a CEO on a contract basis. He is not on our corporation's payroll and also owns the management consulting business that provides other services to our office. The senior management staff has voiced concerns to some of the physicians that there is a clear conflict of interest with the CEO because he looks out for the best interest of his own company first. He and I have had some pretty heated conversations regarding some of the services his company provides to our office in terms of the "lack of service" that is being provided, along with the high prices he is charging our office for those services. His response to me is always the same, "I am the CEO and you don't need to worry about that." How can we convince our physicians that there is a major problem here? We have a "Conflict of Interest" policy that all employees must abide by, but since he is technically not our employee, can we still hold him responsible to meet this policy? I am so frustrated. I would value your opinions or suggestions on how to handle this situation. Thank you.

Rockie

You and I share the same type of position. I, too,work for a large physician practice.

This is a clear conflict of interest and somewhat unethical behavior on the part of the "pseudo CEO" that you have on contract. To be fair in the marketplace, there should be a level playing field and he obviously has gotten around this by promoting his own company and products, etc. Products and services should be open to bid and other companies, besides his company, should be allowed to bid fairly for services rendered.
Most practices have strict ethical guidelines on these types of issues.

He sounds like a lot of contract workers - he is solely in it for the pay. He has no loyalty or obligation to your practice. I would advise the physicians of just that fact. You need to find a dedicated, permanent CEO for this job. His comment sounds like something an ENRON executive would say.

marc

Does the practice have some sort of board or executive committee that gives instructions to the CEO? Someone has to hire him and he must report to that person or body. Also, if he has a contract, these types of practices may be addressed and either allowed or limited. If this is the case, you may want to check with the governance body or person or read the contract, if it exists. Many of your questions may be answered.

deniseE

are you somehow obligated to purchase "services" from him? Is there a clause in his contract or agreement that would permit you to sever the relationship?

Maybe you could get price quote for similar services from others and hold this up against the "CEO" for the doctors to see....sometimes pictures are better than long winded arguments.

System

The buck stops with the owners, presumably the doctors. You can educate them about the potential dangers, but if they don't care, it's the end of the story.

James Sokolowski
HRhero.com