Healthcare may be considered one of the largest and most complex sectors in the world. Different legal entities and professionals provide services, devices, facilities and insurance, or goods and services to facilitate the provision of healthcare to patients, usually under strong regulation in most countries. With a complex regulatory environment, and multiple players and stakeholders, risks to integrity and corruption arise.
These agencies are allocating more and more resources to federal investigations involving bribery, kickbacks, fraud and other misconduct related to health practices. Brazil is not outside the statistics. Similar cases increased due to Covidrelated public procurement. According to DPF's database, [4] during , 34 operations were launched in Covidrelated cases involving this sector.
There is not an easy way to build a culture of integrity in the context of strong regulations and a large history of corruption involving the sector. Understanding the local regulatory framework and conducting an enhanced risk assessment are essential to properly identifying and mitigating the risks arising from this kind of business. In Brazil, a comprehensive compliance risk assessment must consider legal aspects involving corruption, public procurement, fraud, money laundering, politically exposed persons, electoral donations and conflict of interests, according to their respective related laws and regulations.
The law imposes strict civil and administrative liability on companies for corruption acts committed against domestic or foreign public administrations.
The agency is also responsible for issuing official guidelines and evaluating compliance programmes according to legal criteria. The fulfilment of these regulations is essential for healthcare companies to ensure compliance and avoid penalties related to ethical issues. Risk has always permeated our society, and companies across all sectors are constantly engaged in identifying, preventing and handling their inherent risks according to their kind of business.
