Donnetta Horseman (donnetta.horseman@moffitt.org) is Chief Compliance Officer at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, FL.
The auditor or surveyor shows up, and panic immediately sets in. Whether it is a routine audit or a for-cause regulatory survey that catches you off guard, there are some things you can do, and you can train others to do, to be better prepared.
Engage key stakeholders
Convene a group with representation from all the areas potentially involved in the audit. Use prior audits as a guide to ensure that you aren’t leaving anyone out. Be sure to include groups like facilities, telecommunications, or information technology (IT). If you have your communications and IT needs identified prior to the actual audit, activating those plans is one less thing to worry about when the auditor shows up, and it will make for a much smoother audit process.
