Author: Charlie Hayward

This is the second of two parts by career government auditor Charlie Hayward addressing the “Mess at UMMS,” and the legislative reaction to it. The first part detailed many red flags that trained auditors look for to assess the seriousness of problems, so they can create audit steps designed to fully address them. In this Part II Hayward :   Argues that proposed emergency legislation is unlikely to be fully responsive to red flags;  Describes why American Hospital Association guidance UMMS proposes using as best practices can be improved;   Lists some of the elements of a credible audit.

In this first installment of a two-part series, contributor Charlie Hayward, a career government auditor, describes the numerous red flags uncovered to date at the University of Maryland Medical System. In the second installment, he will cover: (1) why the proposed emergency legislation is unlikely to be fully responsive to these red flags; (2) why American Hospital Association guidance and best practices will not be the best benchmarks for assessing UMMS’ conflict  of interest and related policies; (3) some of the objectives that must be met for designing a credible audit.