Healthcare organizations must focus on caring for their patients, not on paperwork. Unfortunately, managing contracts can be a tedious and time-consuming task for all businesses. But with the right approach, it can be streamlined and efficient. This blog post will discuss the different aspects and advantages of contract management software and how using contract management software creates more efficient contract processes.
Key Components of a Contract Management Software
Contract management is your organization’s process of creating, storing, approving and retrieving contracts. A contract management workflow is a system of processes, tools, and resources that help organizations manage the agreements they have in place. Contract management software involves several vital components that healthcare organizations must consider to ensure success.
Contract Creation and Approval
The first step in a contract management workflow is creating or uploading contracts, creating an approval workflow, and approving contracts. This step involves identifying the parties involved, defining the terms of the agreement, and obtaining the necessary signatures. It is essential to standardize this process to avoid missed opportunities and bottlenecks.
Contract Storage and Retrieval
Once you have created and approved the contracts, you need to store them in an easily accessible way for future reference. An effective contract management software should include a system for storing contracts, allowing for easy retrieval and reference when needed.
Contract Monitoring and Reporting
Monitoring and reporting on contracts are crucial to an effective contract management process. This process includes tracking deadlines, renewals, and other important dates to ensure you meet all your deadlines. Without proper tracking, contracts will terminate or auto-renew without your knowledge, causing significant headaches and fees.
Contract Review and Analysis
A periodic scheduled review and analysis of contracts should be a part of any effective contract management process. This step involves identifying areas for improvement, ensuring compliance with regulations, and identifying opportunities to streamline processes.
How Can I Ensure Efficient Contract Management Processes?
Healthcare organizations must follow a standardized process to ensure efficient contract management workflows. You should identify the critical components of the workflow, ensure that all parties involved understand their roles, and have a system in place for tracking and maintaining contracts.
Another way to ensure efficiency is to use automation tools. Healthcare organizations can use automation tools to create, approve, store, retrieve, monitor, report on, review, and analyze contracts. Automation helps streamline the contract management process, saving time and reducing errors.
Lastly, strong support from your chosen contract management software vendor is vitally important to ensure efficiency. By choosing MCN’s Contract Manager, you are placing the structure of your healthcare system’s commitments in the hands of a partner who will walk you through all the contract management steps.
Benefits of Automating Contract Management Workflows
MCN’s Contract Manager utilizes all the benefits of automation to streamline your contract management.
- Increased Efficiency: Automation helps streamline contract management workflows by automatically pushing contracts through the creation process. No physical couriers and document shipping needed!
- Improved Compliance: Automating contract management workflows helps ensure compliance with regulations and contractual obligations. It reduces legal risks and ensures contracts are appropriately managed, mitigating the potential for human error.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Automation tools help improve collaboration between colleagues involved in the contract workflow by providing an online platform for communication. Simply designate critical stakeholders within the program to receive updates at all stages of contract management. Utilize electronic signatures instead of pen and paper to speed things up.
- Improved Communication: A key component of collaboration is communication amongst team members in the contract workflow. From creation to approval to upkeep, team members need a way to communicate efficiently. Automating the contract creation and approval process notifies stakeholders when their contribution is due.
- Upgraded Paper Trail: MCN’s Contract Manager also provides an automatic audit trail of all communication regarding the contract process. There is no need to keep track of physical papers—the program will track it all for you in an easy-to-use format.
How Can I Ensure Compliance with Contract Management Workflow Requirements?
Compliance is an essential component of any healthcare workflow. To ensure contract compliance, organizations must have a standardized process that includes proper documentation of contractual requirements, monitoring contracts, staff education, and performing regular audits.
Healthcare organizations must document all contractual requirements to ensure proper management. This process includes identifying the parties involved, defining the terms of the agreement, and obtaining necessary signatures. Contract management workflows, that you customize to your organization, guides you through the process, so you don’t miss a single step.
Monitoring and reporting on contracts are essential steps for ensuring compliance. Organizations should track deadlines, renewals, and other important milestones to ensure correct contract administration. A good contract management software will keep track of the dates for you and push notifications to designated stakeholders.
All systems in your organization should have an auditing schedule to ensure the best up-to-date practices are adhered to. Regular audits of the contract management process help identify areas for improvement and ensure compliance with regulations and contractual obligations.
Streamline Your Contract Management
An efficient and streamlined contract management workflow is essential for any organization. By following a standardized process, using automation tools, and ensuring compliance, organizations can save time, reduce errors, and improve productivity, translating into money saved in work hours and legal fees. For those looking to simplify their contract management workflow, MCN’s Contract Manager is an excellent tool to consider. Use a company that knows how to manage your healthcare contracts!
References
Ball, B. (2016, March 9). Time is money: Replace your “click to print” with “click to sign” to speed up your contract cycles!. Aberdeen Strategy and Research. https://www.aberdeen.com/featured/speed-up-your-contract-cycles/.
National Contract Management Association. (2023). What is contract management?. https://ncmahq.org/Web/Web/Membership/What-is-Contract-Management-.aspx.