Software Helps Research Facilities Meet New NIH Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) Requirements

JERICHO, N.Y., Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- HCCS (Health Care Compliance Strategies, Inc.), the leading provider of healthcare compliance training and tracking solutions, has announced a software bundle that enables organizations to meet new, stricter conflict of interest disclosure regulations from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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The final rule on financial conflicts of interest, published in August 2011, requires greater transparency and accountability for research institutions that receive Public Health Service (PHS) funding from the NIH. Organizations will need to modify their policies and procedures quickly to meet the new requirements:

• Institutions receiving NIH funds must have a process to evaluate the Significant Financial Interests of investigators and others to determine which might constitute Financial Conflicts of Interest
• Institutions must create management plans to mitigate financial conflicts of interest on the part of research investigators and other staff
• Institutions must respond to public requests for FCOI disclosures within five days and/or publish disclosure information on a publically available website
• All participants in funded research must be trained on institutional policies and their personal obligations regarding disclosure of FCOI prior to engaging in PHS funded research

The HCCS COI-SMART system provides organizations with the tools necessary to comply with these new NIH requirements. COI-SMART is an online system that helps users create, distribute and track questionnaires, then review, manage, and report on COI disclosures. COI-SMART helps manage conflicts that are uncovered in the disclosure process by providing a single searchable online database for all communications related to conflicts, including creation and distribution of management plans.

To assist organizations in complying with the training component of the NIH regulations, HCCS has two online training courses available. "Conflicts of Interest and Research Misconduct" provides training for staff involved in research while "Preventing Conflicts of Interest" provides broader training for all staff members.

"HCCS has always been at the forefront of helping organizations meet regulatory requirements in a cost-effective manner," says Ben Diamond, President of HCCS. "Many organizations will find the need to implement technological solutions in order to effectively comply with the new NIH regulations. COI-SMART is an all-in-one management tool for tracking and managing conflicts of interest. This will have a huge impact on the COI disclosure process at their facilities."

Information can be found at www.coismart.com.

About HCCS

Health Care Compliance Strategies, Inc (HCCS) provides up-to-date compliance and competency training and tracking solutions to hospitals, health plans, teaching facilities, medical schools and other healthcare entities.  HCCS programs are used at hundreds of healthcare facilities nationwide, with over one million registered learners.  HCCS provides a full library of online compliance and competency training courses. 

For more information about HCCS products, contact HCCS at (877) 933-4227, by email at [email protected], or via the web at www.hccs.com.

SOURCE Health Care Compliance Strategies, Inc.