The regulatory and compliance landscape has become increasingly complex, requiring healthcare facilities to organize, manage and maintain vast quantities of information. Digital systems can help keep documentation both accurate and current as well as provide an easier way to access information as needed.
In a May Becker's Hospital Review webinar sponsored by MedTrainer, three compliance experts discussed tips and best practices for accreditation and surveys, explained how to leverage technology to make compliance and learning easier and more efficient and shared real-world applications of technology.
Panelists were:
- Tiffany Pease, product marketing manager, MedTrainer
- Lakesha Rivera, director of clinical operations, Women's Health Connecticut
- David Shapiro, MD, surveyor, Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care
Four key takeaways were:
- More government regulations increase the amount of work for overburdened healthcare facilities and staff. According to Forbes, 45 percent of healthcare workers plan to leave their positions by 2025. It is within this context that increasing government regulations are particularly onerous. "As a result of the pandemic, the temporary standards that have occurred at the federal level have broadened the amount of work that has to be conducted for a facility to remain compliant," Dr. Shapiro said.
- Healthcare facilities have common accreditation challenges. The most common accreditation deficiencies are in credentialing and privileging, infection prevention, emergency preparedness and lack of documentation. Organizations must ensure that providers have complete and updated credential and privileging files that match the services provided by the facility. For example, to address accreditation deficiencies in infection prevention requires that COVID-related protocols must be followed and all staff must be continually trained on emergency preparedness procedures. Documentation is critical in all areas; if something is not documented, it's considered not done.
"Documentation goes beyond the clinical chart," Dr. Shapiro said. "It's important to create a culture of safety, especially when reporting near-misses. An employee needs to feel very comfortable saying, 'Hey, I almost gave this patient the wrong medication.' That allows you to look at what may have happened systemically, helping take action to prevent those things from happening in the future."
- Modern compliance tools help streamline onboarding and training, improve documentation and automate multiple tasks. Rivera explained that Women's Health Connecticut struggled with consistency during onboarding and training. "Some employees were using OSHA manuals, others signed up for training through a biohazard company and a few got on YouTube," she said.
"MedTrainer was a lifesaver," she continued. "We now have one platform where everyone is getting the same training. As an organization, we require some specific courses for OSHA and HIPAA, but we leave it to our officers to decide what other training is required." In addition, these tools can help track things like near-misses, document training and HR requirements and automate reminders about accreditation for individual staff members.
- Automation tools provide significant benefits for healthcare organizations. According to Ms. Pease, modernizing compliance and learning saves on average six hours each week. "What automation and cloud-based technology can do for your organization comes down to efficiency," she said. "A recent survey from Becker's said that half of a doctor's time is spent in documentation. We want to relieve that burden so they can spend more time with patients.
"This solution will go a long way in improving the patient experience," she said. "It will reduce errors; lead to better documentation; improve safety, onboarding and training; avoid penalties and streamline management."
When it comes to the operational execution behind giving the best care possible to your patients, automation and technology can go a very long way.
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