Solomon Carter (solomoncarter2000@gmail.com) leads Emory Healthcare’s Physician Group Practices, Patient Financial Services, Office of Professional Development. He also serves as the Executive Director of All Power in His Hands Christian Mission, which is a mission/aid organization that operates in Haiti. His work is inspired, in part, by his work in Haiti during the cholera outbreak.

Until now, when most people thought about compliance, particularly those outside of the compliance profession, they thought about a department or people charged with enforcing rules. And, of course, they would be correct in thinking that, but, as we know, there’s so much more to compliance than “making people do things.”

I proselytize that the essence of compliance isn’t to make people do anything. It is to create a culture based on motivational techniques—not compulsion—where you enjoy your greatest gains and the true compliance you seek. Proof of this can be found in how Americans and people all over the world respond to COVID-19. But I emphasize Americans, because the culture of freedom is embedded in our constitution and grants the mindset of not being restricted—wholesale or otherwise. We are also (in theory) encouraged to be freethinkers doing as we essentially please. And within that, we are granted freedoms to succeed or fail in life and liberty based on how we feel and what we want for ourselves. It’s what makes America such a special place. But as it relates to this unprecedented global pandemic, it creates real problems in helping to gain consistent compliance.