James Mathis, JD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s (VUMC) Chief Compliance Officer, has accepted a new position as Chief Compliance Officer for UW Medicine, the academic health system of the University of Washington in Seattle. Mathis will depart VUMC on Jan. 22.
Mathis joined VUMC in February 2013 to assume executive and operational control for the Office of Compliance and Corporate Integrity, which was later renamed the Office of Healthcare Compliance. He was promoted to Chief Compliance Officer in 2014.
The Office of Healthcare Compliance is charged with identifying and mitigating risks associated with potential violations of the Anti-kickback Statute, Stark Laws, the Federal and State False Claims Act, and various other laws and rules that impact billing, coding and reimbursement for the Medical Center. While the Office of Healthcare Compliance is involved with many compliance-related responsibilities, the primary focus is compliance with billing and coding.
As Chief Compliance Officer, Mathis worked closely with members of the Medical Center’s leadership team, overseeing the review, planning, implementation and operations for compliance-related matters, including the development and implementation of system-wide training and communications program, to ensure that all employees and affiliated parties are educated about VUMC’s compliance program and other specific compliance areas deemed necessary.
“Jim has worked consistently since joining VUMC to elevate the profile of the compliance program within our organization,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer. “We’re grateful for Jim’s leadership and contributions, and we wish him all the best in his new role with UW Medicine.”
In addition to leading the Office of Healthcare Compliance, Mathis also provided input into VUMC’s policies and procedures and oversaw the VUMC Integrity Line, which provides a method for compliance concerns to be reported anonymously.
A native of Williamson County, Mathis earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from Vanderbilt. He joined Vanderbilt with significant healthcare compliance experience, having worked at large for-profit, multisite providers assisting in interactions with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other government regulatory agencies. He is certified by the Healthcare Compliance Association (CHC) and the American Health Information Management Association (CHP).
The Medical Center will conduct a national search to identify Mathis’ successor. Pending the completion of the search, interim leadership will be provided by Christi Braun, JD, managing counsel in the Office of Legal Affairs, who will be responsible for investigation as well as research and other businesses, and Bob Mangeot, billing compliance officer, who will be responsible for daily compliance program operations.
