Research Compliance Spring 2021 Newsletter

Federal Sponsor Foreign Influence Investigations Continue NIH The NIH continues to investigate universities and researchers that it believes have not transparently disclosed financial ties to foreign entities and governments.  In a presentation to a senior NIH advisory panel, NIH Director of Extramural Research Mike Lauer shared that as of June 2020, some 54 scientists have…

Research Compliance Fall 2019 Newsletter

Sponsor Requirements regarding Sexual Harassment NSF Effective October 22, 2018, the National Science Foundation (NSF) implemented a new award term and condition that requires grantee organizations to report findings of sexual harassment, or any other kind of harassment prohibited under university policy committed by a PI or co-PI. The award term and condition also requires…

Healthcare Compliance Spring 2018 Newsletter

The Opioid Crisis: An Emerging False Claims Act Risk Trend The government’s focus on the US opioid crisis has been consistently expanding over the past year beyond manufacturers to reach prescribers and health care providers who submit claims to federal health care programs for opioid prescriptions.  These efforts increasingly include investigations under the False Claims…

Healthcare Compliance Fall 2017 Newsletter

Compliance Week’s A-Coming! Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week is November 5 – 11. The Healthcare Compliance Team will be setting up a table and photo booth at various locations to celebrate the week. Stop by the photo booth to meet your Compliance partners, sign up for a focus group, and complete a survey to be…

Research Compliance Spring 2017 Newsletter

NIH Researchers – Annual Disclosures are Due! All investigators who are seeking or have obtained HHS research support must submit their annual update beginning on Thursday, June 1st.  Any disclosures submitted prior to Thursday, June 1st will not count towards the annual update for FY18. Please keep in mind the following requirements: Any HHS investigator, or…

Privacy Winter 2017 Newsletter

UMass Amherst Hit with $650,000 HIPAA Settlement In November, federal regulators have slapped the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a $650,000 financial settlement and corrective action plan after investigating a 2013 breach involving a malware infection at a campus speech and language center. OCR in its statement says that on June 18, 2013, UMass reported…

Research Compliance Winter 2017 Newsletter

Your Ethics in Action Heroes Lauren Ferrell of Viterbi and Shannon Hinojosa of Rossier have been named Ethics in Action Heroes by the Office of Culture, Ethics and Compliance. The Office of Culture, Ethics and Compliance solicited nominations late last year, and Lauren and Shannon were selected as the winners from those nominated. You can…

Healthcare Compliance Winter 2017 Newsletter

One Year Later: The Yates Memo, False Claims Act and Director & Executive Liability On September 19 and 27, 2016, the US Department of Justice announced two False Claims Act settlements that required corporate executives to make substantial monetary payments to resolve their liability.In the first, North American Health Care Inc. (NAHC) and two individuals…

Research Compliance Fall 2016 Newsletter

Nominate Your Ethics in Action Hero DO YOU KNOW AN ETHICAL ROLE MODEL WHO: Demonstrates a commitment to our Code of Ethics? Serves as an example to others through their actions and decisions? Sets high standards for themselves and others in the workplace? If you answered yes to any of these questions, the USC Office…