Your Conflicts of Interest Process Is Slowing You Down—Here’s How CMS Integration Speeds Up COI Compliance

Conflict of Interest (COI) campaign responses and compliance is a critical process. Even more so for the healthcare industry. Yet for many organizations, it remains a slow, manual task.

Compliance teams spend hours collecting COI disclosures, verifying financial relationships, and reviewing potential conflicts of interest. Without an efficient system, the process becomes error-prone, leading to inconsistent reporting and compliance risks. Employees often struggle to remember every financial tie, which creates deeper gaps in COI compliance.

Companies are enhancing their COI processes due to evolving DOJ and OIG regulations, reputational risks, increased stakeholder scrutiny, social media exposure, and the need to move beyond outdated manual workflows, says Bruno Araujo, SAI360’s Director of Global Pre-Sales.

Simplifying COI compliance starts with integrating CMS Open Payments into your disclosure management process. This approach eliminates manual data entry, streamlines COI workflows, and delivers real-time compliance insights—reducing errors and easing the burden on employees.

Here’s how COI software integration improves compliance efficiency and accuracy.

Tailored COI Solutions for Healthcare Providers

Healthcare organizations face heightened scrutiny when it comes to conflicts of interest (COI) due to strict regulations like CMS Open Payments. Managing physician relationships, financial disclosures, and vendor ties can become complex and time-consuming. SAI360’s healthcare-specific COI module streamlines this process by directly integrating with CMS Open Payments, auto-populating data, and reducing manual input—helping healthcare providers maintain transparency and regulatory compliance with ease.

Improve COI Management with Less Manual Entry and Fewer Errors 

One of the biggest slowdowns in COI management is manual data entry. Employees are expected to report payments received from external entities, but recalling exact details isn’t always easy. Mistakes happen. Numbers get entered incorrectly. Some COI disclosures may be missing altogether. 

With CMS Open Payments integration, this information auto-populates into COI assessments. This feature is especially critical for healthcare providers who must report physician payments and relationships accurately. By pulling data directly from CMS Open Payments, the system ensures that healthcare organizations comply with federal regulations while reducing the administrative burden on staff.

Instead of relying on memory, employees see pre-filled payment data pulled directly from the CMS Open Payments database. They can review, edit, or add additional details if needed, but the bulk of the work is already done. 

For compliance teams, risk management teams, and compliance officers alike, this means: 

• More accurate and consistent COI disclosures 

• Less error and back-and-forth requesting corrections 

• Faster turnaround on COI compliance reviews 

The result? A smoother, more reliable COI compliance process that saves time and reduces risk. 

COI Disclosure Ensures Automated Workflows Keep Reviews on Track 

Once a COI disclosure is submitted, it needs to go through the right approval channels. This is where many organizations hit bottlenecks. If the process is unclear or handled manually, reviews can take weeks—delaying important decisions. 

With predefined workflows, COI reviews move forward automatically. Potential conflicts are flagged for compliance teams. This ensures high-risk cases get immediate attention. Workflows can be customized to match an organization’s structure, routing disclosures to the right reviewers at the right time. 

Instead of spending hours tracking down documents and approvals, compliance officers and legal teams can focus on what really matters—assessing risk and ensuring transparency. This way, you maintain compliance strategically.  

COI Disclosure Offers Better Oversight with Real-Time Insights 

A single COI disclosure might not raise concerns. However, when patterns emerge across an organization, compliance risks can grow. Without a centralized COI tracking system, it’s difficult to spot trends in financial relationships and identify potential compliance violations. 

By integrating CMS Open Payments, organizations get access to real-time reporting on COI data via compliance dashboards that provide actionable insights. Compliance officers and teams can: 

• Identify trends in COI disclosures and financial relationships across different departments 

• Generate compliance reports to track high-risk vendors or recurring payments 

• Use dashboards to monitor disclosure status at a glance 

With better visibility and compliance oversight, organizations can take a proactive approach to COI risk management, instead of reacting to issues after they arise. 

Expanding Compliance Beyond COI for Healthcare Providers

SAI360’s Conflicts of Interest solution includes pre-built modules tailored for healthcare and managed care providers. The goal? Simplify compliance with industry regulations. Here’s more:

• COI Management: Integrated with CMS Open Payments for accurate physician payment tracking.
• Gifts & Hospitality: Ensures anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance.
• Regulatory Audits: Streamlines audit preparation and compliance checks.
• IT & Cybersecurity: Protects sensitive data and mitigates cybersecurity risks.
• Revenue Integrity: Optimizes billing accuracy and reduces financial risk.

These modules help healthcare providers reduce regulatory risks, improve operational efficiency, and maintain transparency.

Final Thoughts 

Conflicts of interest are unavoidable in any large organization. But managing them doesn’t have to be a frustrating, time-consuming process. By integrating CMS Open Payments, compliance teams can reduce manual work, speed up reviews, and gain a clearer view of potential risks. 

The shift toward automation is about building a smarter, more transparent approach to compliance. The easier it is for employees to disclose potential conflicts, the stronger the organization’s integrity will be. 

Let’s Start a Conversation 

Schedule a virtual coffee with a team member and demo our Conflicts of Interest Disclosure solution.