Office of Compliance and Audit Services

SUNY Downstate Medical Center (DMC) has a long-standing reputation for lawful and ethical behavior, a reputation which you and your fellow employees and faculty members have earned over the years. This is more than a source of pride for us; it is one of our greatest assets. In an increasingly complex health care environment, we will maintain our leadership in patient care, medical education and research only if we continue to merit the trust of our patients, the community, government regulators and one another.

DMC has a Compliance Program, including a Compliance and Audit Oversight Committee, which includes representation from the Clinical Practice Management Plan/University Physicians of Brooklyn, the College of Medicine, the University Hospital of Brooklyn and Center-wide Administration. The Compliance Program ensures that SUNY Downstate Medical Center maintains its commitment to legal and ethical conduct by all employees and faculty. Renee Poncet is the Vice President for Compliance and Audit Services, with responsibility for overseeing this Program.

The SUNY Downstate Medical Center's Code of Ethics and Business Conduct reaffirms the principles that have guided this institution since its founding in 1948. It sets forth our general standards of legal and ethical conduct. The Code is supplemented by a more detailed Compliance Program Manual and by the SUNY Downstate Medical Center policies and procedures pertaining to specific areas.

I expect all SUNY Downstate Medical Center employees, including physician staff, and voluntary physicians to uphold these legal and ethical principles without exception. To do so, we all must read the Code carefully and apply it to our work. If you have any questions about how our principles, standards or policies apply, seek answers from your supervisor, the Vice President for Compliance and Audit Services or other appropriate individuals in the institution.

Please keep in mind that violations of legal or ethical requirements jeopardize the welfare of the entire DMC campus, including the Colleges of Nursing, Medicine and Health Related Professions, the Research Foundation, Clinical Practice Management Plan/University Physicians of Brooklyn, University Hospital of Brooklyn and Center-wide Administration; its employees, patients and the communities it serves. Remember, too, that standards of conduct mean little without personal commitment. Ultimately, the responsibility for ethical behavior - and thus for DMC's reputation - rests in our hands.

John C. La Rosa, MD, FACP
President