Boston Company Celebrates 10th Anniversary With Addition to Staff

Boston Company Celebrates 10th Anniversary With Addition to Staff

When Founder and President Vincent DiCianni first came up with the idea that an alternative to more severe sanctions imposed by government oversight agencies would provide a bridge to private businesses, there was no company in existence doing this.  So early in 2003, Affiliated Monitors began to provide services for a number of the healthcare licensing agencies. Mr. DiCianni then left his full-time law practice to expand Affiliated Monitors.  He was the sole employee for some time, but today has a staff of 10 working primarily at the company’s address on Devonshire St in Boston.  Additional staff members work from offices in California, Colorado and Michigan to service the national clientele of businesses and government entities in 35 states, as well as Federal government agencies.

Affiliated Monitors became the first company in the country to focus on providing top quality, independent monitoring services across a wide range of regulated industries and professions.

Well time flies and this year the company is celebrating its tenth anniversary with the new hire of former United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Donald Stern, as Managing Director, Corporate Monitoring and Consulting Services.

Mr. Stern is also Former Chief Counsel to Former Governor Michael Dukakis and most recently was a senior partner at the Cooley law firm here in Boston.  In his new role, he will oversee the company’s corporate monitoring programs across a spectrum of industries:  healthcare, financial services, environmental and others.

Mr. DiCianni is enthusiastic about Mr. Stern’s move, “Don is one of the most respected attorneys and thought leaders in the country.  His perspectives reflect years of service in Massachusetts government and his distinguished career in private practice.  He will fit perfectly with Affiliated Monitors approach of providing independent remedial monitoring and consulting programs.”

Mr. Stern said, “I spent my legal career almost evenly split between private practice and public service.  In both arenas, I have recognized the importance of real compliance mechanisms, which reduce the likelihood of missteps.  Affiliated Monitors is the logical extension of my experience.  I am excited about working with companies to monitor their compliance efforts and make them more effective.  Affiliated Monitors has a proven track record as an innovator in independent monitoring and is successfully improving companies’ compliance, while helping government agencies to be better stewards.”

Mr. Stern’s high profile hire follows another high-level addition last year of a retired veteran of the CIA and Former Federal Inspector General Eric Feldman, as Managing Director of Corporate Ethics and Compliance Programs.

Since its founding a decade ago, Affiliated Monitors has been the monitor in more than four hundred matters, ranging from large multi-national companies to individual healthcare practitioners.  Mr. DiCianni has seen much change over the years, mostly with the addition of regulations and compliance issues that companies need to meet in order to be in good standing with various state agencies and government entities.

“Changes to Federal Acquisition Regulations and Federal Sentencing Guidelines specifically identify periodic, independent assessments of an organization's ethics and integrity programs as one of the key factors in determining a company's due diligence and commitment to ethical behavior,” said Mr. DiCianni.  In addition, in the healthcare industry, practitioners face ever-changing regulations, billing requirements and evolving practice requirements. 

Affiliated Monitors provides businesses and government agencies with independent, proactive and remedial solutions to specific regulatory and contractual, licensing and credentialing issues.  It identifies and promotes best practices, incorporates agency and client input into its processes and not only produces high-quality, timely reports, but also exceptional results in terms of improved client performance.

Over the years, Affiliated Monitors has provided independent monitoring for the Air Force , Navy and Army debarment officials, the federal Highway and Railroad Administrations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Inspector General for Health and Human Services, as well an many attorneys general around the country.  It has served as the monitor for contractors who worked on the Big Dig in Massachusetts, several of the world’s largest retailers, government contractors, healthcare providers and in the financial services industry.

By addressing issues that protect the public’s health, safety and welfare, Affiliated Monitors has dramatically improved the business and working relationships and integrity of government contractors and those who work under government licensing requirements.

The company has done work for the Massachusetts Medical Board and many other state medical boards around the country, including New York,  Florida, Colorado, Arizona and many others, where providers’ skills or processes have been called into question. Issues they have covered include pain management, billing, competency and delegation of patient care, to name but a few.

“Independent monitoring takes the burden off government and allows companies and professionals to continue to operate while addressing the deficiencies and becoming compliant again,” said Mr. DiCianni.

The company mainly operates in four key areas: ethics evaluations – seeking to reduce the risk of ethical failures by conducting an independent, comprehensive assessment of a company's ethics and integrity posture and the effectiveness of its ethics and compliance program and activities; independent monitoring – providing  independent, neutral monitors to oversee the implementation of consent orders, settlement agreements, court orders or other dispositions in enforcement actions brought by government agencies against regulated professionals or businesses; compliance and assessments – conducting independent audits to give valuable, impartial and thorough evaluation of the level of compliance with the laws and practice standards governing a business and remediation to address weaknesses.

Affiliated Monitors also performs independent assessment services for practitioners to determine the level of competency in their clinical and business practices, and offers reporting hotlines to provide a channel for informal communication that staff, customers or other parties can call toll-free 24 hours a day, seven days a week without fear of recrimination.

In today’s economy, belt tightening by government agencies has led to increased scrutiny of public expenditures and, in many instances, zero tolerance for deficiencies.  At the same time, many businesses and professionals find it difficult to keep up with the changing legal requirements that govern their operations while maintaining the highest ethical standards. Failure to meet legal requirements can lead to suspension, debarment, or loss of a contract or professional license.

What was once a novel idea a decade ago, Affiliated Monitors has been working for 10 years to help businesses stay in business and be compliant while aiding the government in oversight.  If the next ten years are anything like the first ten, Affiliated Monitors will be celebrating its 20-year anniversary in a flash.