>>> 06/10/04 5:22 PM >>>
Faculty and Staff
UW Medicine
Dear Colleagues:
Over the past several days, both the Seattle Times and Seattle Weekly have run articles related to the federal billing investigation. Although a settlement was reached with the federal government on April 30, there continues to be a high level of media interest in this investigation. While we could respond point-by-point to each of the allegations raised in newspaper stories, I believe that this would accomplish little and would be a distraction from the important work ahead.
We made mistakes. I accept responsibility for these mistakes and for ensuring that we learn from them. We have taken many steps to improve our business practices and oversight. As a result, we are in a much better position today than we were at the start of the investigation. The UW Medicine Board established a standing Board Compliance Committee in 2001. There are compliance offices in the practice plans, UWMC, and Harborview that provide the resources to analyze and act on the types of concerns that were raised by the whistleblower.
I assure you we continue to seek ways to improve our compliance programs. Dennis Okamoto, the Chair of the UW Medicine Board, will appoint an independent committee to determine lessons to be learned from the investigation and identify the additional steps we must take to ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. President Lee Huntsman, incoming President Mark Emmert, and Gerald Grinstein, President of the UW Board of Regents, have endorsed this step. The membership of the committee will be announced in the next few weeks and will consist of individuals who are not members of the administrative leadership of UW Medicine or the practice plans.
We are fortunate to be part of a remarkable academic community with a bright future. I believe the steps we have taken and the work of this committee will strengthen UW Medicine and allow us to maintain our traditions of excellence, high standards, and collegiality.
Sincerely,
Paul G. Ramsey, MD
Vice President for Medical Affairs and
Dean of the School of Medicine