A healthcare organization has received a conditional level finding by a regulatory agency and it has been determined that the organization’s policies and procedures were not followed. There is now an urgency to improve processes that impact patient safety and quality outcomes. Sound familiar?
Poor policy management can be found in all areas of a healthcare organization. One example would be inappropriate care at the bedside because there has been no care quality standardization based on best-practice models. Another example is a pending litigation case where the policy at the time of the patient care incident was out-of-date and without appropriate review by leadership. These are only a few examples of what happens as a result of poor document control.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as regulatory agencies such as The Joint Commission (TJC) and DNV, provide guidance for reviewing and approving policies and procedures. This is to ensure best practice directs patient care and enhances quality outcomes. When an organization fails to follow these guiding principles, there is a perceived lack of due diligence by surveyors in providing optimal resources to patient care associates and ultimately less than quality care provided to patients.
The guiding principles of policy review and approval are interwoven throughout regulations. Ensuring measures are in place to ensure policies and procedures are reviewed and approved is a daunting task. Time is a precious commodity for leaders in the constantly world of healthcare. Leaders are now becoming reliant on software that helps them navigate operational mandates required by regulations. Document control software allows for efficient and effective management of policies, procedures, and guidelines and allows technology to assist in maintaining a compliant cadence.
A holistic document compliance software solution provides dynamic document control and workflow management and includes additional tools to alert the organization to changes in regulation, policy templates that can be customized for organizational use, and elearning for staff education.
MCN’s document compliance software solutions (Policy Manager, Policy Library, StayAlert!, elearning) enables staff to find policies and procedures quickly, automates the policy review and approval process and attestation throughout your organization, reducing negative outcomes and organizational risk.
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MCN HEALTHCARE
Regulatory Compliance Solutions for Healthcare Organizations
Our comprehensive compliance suite includes:
Policy Management Software | Policy Library | StayAlert! | StayAlert! Plus |
Learn more. Visit www.mcnsolutions.com