Speaker 0 00:00:00 I really appreciate the honesty and the integrity of the people that I work with. And, you know, there's not a lot of places where people work that you can say that, but I can certainly say it about affiliated monitors.
Speaker 1 00:00:16 Hello, and welcome to integrity through compliance AMS business success series. This podcast was created by season's compliance experts and affiliated monitors who will provide their observations on industry trends, gear to raise your awareness and to protect your brand. So grab a cup of coffee and join us as we guide you to integrity through compliance.
Speaker 2 00:00:43 Welcome to the integrity through compliance podcast. My name is Dan Barton. We're going to shake things up a little bit today. We're going to do an audio version of a series that we've been running on the affiliated monitors website called the employee spotlight. And, uh, we wanted to give a little bit of life to that same concept. So we've invited August featured AMI employee DeAnn, Conroy. Thank you so much for sitting down to chat with me.
Speaker 0 00:01:14 Thanks, Dan. This is fun.
Speaker 2 00:01:16 I sure hope so. So we're just kinda gonna run through a little bit of your background, how you found your way to AMI. So, you know, please give us a little bit of your background
Speaker 0 00:01:27 If you will. Well, um, I was the first one in my family to go to law school. Um, so the whole law school experience was brand new. I had no idea what to expect. So starting there, I started out my career as a district attorney in Denver, Colorado, and got a great deal of experience in the courtroom and loved it. And when it was time to go there, everybody was talking about healthcare and how the healthcare laws were changing, how it was so politicized, how changes were coming. And it was just a really interesting time to get into healthcare law. So that's what I did. I've worked on both sides. I've defended healthcare professionals who got in trouble either with their boards or, um, had a lawsuit similarly that they were having to deal with. Um, I did that. And then on the other side, when I worked for the government, I would be the executive director who ran healthcare boards. So I saw the other side of the discipline part for healthcare professionals. And I testified a lot in, uh, at the Capitol talking about, uh, proposed bills and how they would affect that healthcare profession, how they would affect the people who were coming to get treatment so that the legislators could be well-informed on what they were doing.
Speaker 2 00:02:59 Do you feel like your expertise was listened to in those cases or it was like, all right, thanks. No, we're good. We're just going to do what we were going to do anyways, but
Speaker 0 00:03:06 I was, you know, really lucky. Cause I think most of the time they did listen to me, they asked really great questions and they made some changes that I had proposed into the law before they passed it. So I think for the most part, I was lucky. You can always tell there's one or two people sitting there trying not to roll their eyes at me, but you could tell they'd already made up their mind about what they were going to do. Right. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:03:30 And then, you know, getting some perspective on, on both sides of that work, how did that affect the way you view healthcare law and the role that, that you had to play in it?
Speaker 0 00:03:43 Yeah, it works. It works really great for me. Um, at affiliated bolivars because, um, my role there, um, in healthcare is when healthcare practitioners get in trouble with their boards, say they're not documenting correctly to their over prescribing controlled substances to their patients, you know, to I've operated on the wrong part of the body. I mean, it goes from a to Z what they could have done wrong and then the board steps in and they go, okay, well we have some concerns and we think you need some more education and we think you need to be monitored. So that's where AMI comes in. We are the monitor for physicians and nurse practitioners and dentists and chiropractors and everything. So we come in with a, like a trained healthcare professional, and we monitor them and we give suggestions to them, Hey, this is how you would make your practice better.
Speaker 0 00:04:47 This is the way you could do things that would make your patient feel more confident in the health care they're receiving. And we report to the board how, how, how well they're doing. And so, so for seeing it on both sides, I think it's helped. Cause I, I understand how pressured the healthcare practitioners are when they're like, look, you're doing something wrong and we want you to fix it. So I've seen that side of it. And I've also seen the side where the board who are, who are made up of volunteers in the healthcare profession take very seriously their direction to protect the public safety. And so it's, it's that combination that kind of rubs against each other where we have to find the way through.
Speaker 2 00:05:38 I imagine that kind of empathy for both viewpoints really helps to remain neutral as a third party, an independent monitor.
Speaker 0 00:05:48 Right. And that's, uh, that's what AMI does so well is we remain a third party, independent, um, monitor. And so I tell the healthcare practitioners, we're going to tell you like, it is the good, the bad and the ugly. You're going to hear all of it, but don't feel like you're alone. We know how to fix it and we'll help you through it. And you'll come out stronger on the other end
Speaker 2 00:06:12 And rewinding a little bit. How did you find your way from healthcare law to affiliated monitoring?
Speaker 0 00:06:19 Oh, um, when I was an executive director for my health care professions, am I owner of in DC, Annie came out to Colorado where I was working and met with me several times. He made presentations to the boards that I was running. Um, and I was just so impressed with affiliated monitors and what they could do. And, uh, I kept in touch with them and when it was time for me to retire from government work, uh, they were right there knocking on my door. So it worked out really great.
Speaker 2 00:06:52 Uh, w I should say so, and thinking that, you know, that you work in the healthcare sector of AMI, is, do you, does your work focus just on practitioners or is it larger practices and healthcare entities?
Speaker 0 00:07:05 Right? We have it all. Yeah. We have it all from like a single practitioner to a group of practitioners. We represent health insurance companies. We do corporate work for healthcare entities. So it's really the whole range of anybody in healthcare. We like to it, we laugh about this because if we didn't laugh, we would be crying because this, the healthcare industry is the second most regulated industry by the government. The only thing that is stricter than healthcare is nuclear energy. So it's nuclear energy and then it's us and healthcare. So the amount of restrictions and rules and laws, or it's just mindblowing and to have to navigate through those very risky waters to get to the place where a practitioner or a healthcare company can provide the kind of service they want to provide to their patients. That can be a hard, hard way to go.
Speaker 2 00:08:11 Yeah. I, it definitely sounds like it. And, and clearly hearing that you care about positive outcomes for the practitioners that you work with as clients. Do you have any stories that stand out any favorite anecdotes from your time at AMI? So far?
Speaker 0 00:08:26 I do. I have a couple. I have, uh, one of them, he was actually my very first client at any at AMI when I was just coming in. And he was just a wonderful man, uh, foreign taught. And I think there were some language barriers that he struggled with to try to understand what all of the rules were and to, so that he could follow them, but he was, uh, in trouble for over prescribing controlled substances to lot of patients. And so I worked with him for, uh, three, four years and to see how far he'd come during that period was so awesome. And then at the very end, right before he was supposed to be over the main insurance company where he had most of his patients from set a hearing forum saying, you know, they weren't sure that he, he was meeting their standards and they were going to pull him from taking their patients and that would have destroyed his practice.
Speaker 0 00:09:29 And so I came to the hearing and I testified, and I said, you know, if you had any concerns at all, it should have been three years ago, look where he is now because he kept wanting to bring up cases that were, you know, four or five years old. I go look what he's doing now, he's learned so much, he's incorporated all the recommendations we make and he, he's a great physician. And so he actually won that hearing and is still practicing today and doing a great job. That's so rewarding. Yeah. I really love that story. And the other one is kind of a similar situation. This guy had a lot of issues that we worked on for five years. We kept working with this guy and it would be like two steps forward, one step back, kind of a situation. And the five years was coming close to an end.
Speaker 0 00:10:22 And I was, I was really happy with how far he'd come. And I hoped that he would keep it up on his own. And he called me one day and I thought, well, you know, this is him calling to say things. And he certainly did that. But then he went on to say, you know what, I've really been thinking about it. And all of the suggestions and recommendations that you have made to my practice have really, really helped me. It has turned my practice around and I don't want to give that up. And I no longer have to go through the board because my probation period is over. But I think what I get from affiliated monitors is worth me paying for it myself. And so even those probation has been successfully completed. Uh, we still monitor him and still give him ideas on how to make his practice better. And he's really done an amazing, amazing job. So that was really, that was rewarding to hear too, that it was such a benefit to him that he wanted to continue doing it, even though he didn't have.
Speaker 2 00:11:27 Yeah. And that, that says so much about you and your work and AMS work at large. And it's clear that you're kind of passionate about those one-on-one relationships, but is there anything else about AMI as business that you're personally most passionate about or excited about?
Speaker 0 00:11:46 Personally? I love working as part of the team. That's my favorite and the AMI healthcare team. I would put us up against anybody. We, we have great experience. We listen very well. We can follow the rules set up by the board, but we also know when to advocate for something. And when to step back and working as a team really just makes all the difference in the world. I think it gives our clients the best product, because if I'm not thinking of something, I can get somebody else clued in on it and they can give me their ideas as well. I just think that works super great. I really do. And I think the whole idea of monitoring, uh, that's what affiliated monitors does. You can tell by our name, that's where it's not like one of many things we do, we monitor and we're good at it.
Speaker 0 00:12:44 And we have a lot of years of experience. I think we're on year 17, maybe. So I just think it's a great outcome for people rather than just saying, oh, we'll just let them do what they're doing. And we won't worry about it. Maybe someone will Sue them civilly and they'll have to mess with that too. We're going to take their license and they can never practice again. There's very few that should fall in that extreme and all in the middle can be monitoring and education and getting people to where they need to be. That should be everyone's goal. Let's get them to where they need to be.
Speaker 2 00:13:20 Right. You seem to really see the value and room for growth and really believe in the process.
Speaker 0 00:13:27 Great. I really do. It's a great place to work. I love it.
Speaker 2 00:13:30 Absolutely. And, you know, everybody has their different backgrounds coming from AMI. It seems to collect people from all corners of, of all industries. And we talked a little bit about how having worked both on the government side and the private side of healthcare has given you kind of a unique 30,000 foot view into your work, but is there anything else about your background and your personal expertise that really kind of informs the way you view affiliated monitors work?
Speaker 0 00:14:00 Well, especially as part, uh, working for the government and I would see healthcare practitioners come to the board in all different places. So some would come by themselves having no idea how the board works, having no idea what kind of questions would be asked of them and what they were supposed to do. And they just have this, you know, big, I look about them and I just always felt so bad for them because it was clear. They didn't know what was going on. And then you'd have people come in, you know, with a bank of four lawyers, you know, trying to bamboozle everybody in the board, not to do anything to them. And then I've seen people come in and report and the affiliated monitors reports were hands down the best I ever saw. They were the most complete. If there was a problem, they gave different ways to approach it. They asked for board input when they needed board input. Otherwise they just reported how things were going, what they would be working on for the next quarter, but the board should expect to see next time we report just such a comprehensive product to really help both the board and the practitioner put the practitioner on the right road and assure the board that we are watching and we're reporting accurately and independently so that they have the information they need to decide their next step.
Speaker 2 00:15:36 Right. And is that like thoroughness and doing more than the bare minimum? Is that something that you would want prospective AMI clients to know about? Is there anything else that you would communicate to people who may be thinking about proactively monitoring or maybe needing to have one assigned? What do you want people to know before getting to work with
Speaker 0 00:15:58 It? I want to know that we will listen. We understand everybody just wants to be heard, so we will listen and we will get from that what situation you're in now. And we will work with you. We're never going to leave you out alone on your own to handle something that the board sends you. And it gives you, sends you a letter and it says you have to do a, B and C. How frightening is that? If you don't have a clue what a, B and C even means and what it constitutes. So we will never leave you alone. We are there with you. And, uh, if I don't know the answer, I'll find somebody on my team who knows the answer. Uh, and, and we will be there. We will be there independently so that the actual situation is told everybody's above board. And then we can make some real progress together and feel a real sense of satisfaction for everybody involved. It's a win-win win for everybody.
Speaker 2 00:16:54 Absolutely. And, you know, as a well-rounded person, you have a life outside of work. Um, do you do any teaching, conducting of seminars, any volunteer work that, that you enjoy?
Speaker 0 00:17:07 Yes. Um, through the years of unspoken to over 1900, uh, people in seminars about healthcare and where healthcare is going and, uh, what we need to be careful of and what we need to do. Um, and that's always rewarding to, to talk to, uh, you come into a hospital and you have everybody from the orderly to the CEO of the board, sitting there listening to you, tell them how this should go is very interesting. Um, my favorite volunteer work I've done though is for, um, local school title, one very poor school. And I T I helped teach a kindergartner and first graders how to read and been my favorite hands down, voluntary thing I've ever done.
Speaker 2 00:17:54 And how long have you been doing that? A couple of years. Yeah, I think that would, that, uh, that does sound rewarding. Having had a lot of teacher friends and, and my dad, the teacher, and the thing that everybody says is like, when, when they get something that aha moment when something really gets through is, uh, is kind of what, uh, keeps you coming back for that sort of thing. It's hard to beat. Well, uh, is there anything else that, uh, I didn't ask you about that you feel like I should have the floor is yours, if there's anything else you're hoping to get across?
Speaker 0 00:18:28 Well, I just would like everyone to know how special an organization that AMI is. It's full of people. All the people care, everybody cares, and everybody wants to work together to get the best situation for everyone involved. It's just the most really uplifting place I've ever worked. And I really appreciate the honesty and the integrity of the people that I work with. And, you know, there's not a lot of places where people work that you can say that, but I can certainly say it about affiliated monitoring.
Speaker 2 00:19:06 Well, absolutely. And I appreciate you and your time, we've been talking to Dan Conroy, a compliance solutions manager for affiliated monitors. If you want to read more about her, you can go to affiliated monitors.com. We've got her employee spotlight page up all through the month of August. So thank you so much for your time. Thanks so much, Dan. You bet. Talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 00:19:30 Thank you for joining affiliate monitors podcast, integrity through compliance Amies business success series. Today's segment is just a sample of the subject matter expertise captured by AMI compliance professionals. Go to our
[email protected] to view the comprehensive list of industry and in-house talent. AMI has available to enhance professional and business integrity programs and controls. Also connect with us on LinkedIn to receive updates and trends in the areas of enforcement and compliance. If you have any questions about today's podcast or would like to learn more, please contact
[email protected]. Our affiliated monitors podcast, production team of Dolores <inaudible>, our compliance associate, and Dan Barton, our editor and podcast music composer. Look forward to you joining us again for our next installment of integrity, through compliance, AMI business success series.
