In our ever-changing healthcare environment, accreditation managers will never have a dull moment. As soon as you think everything is updated, CMS announces a new update and the cycle of compliance validation begins again. Here are the most common challenges to effective policy and accreditation management, as well as the solution.
Navigating Frequent Standards Updates
Standards updates are often communicated via email or the accrediting body’s website in a bulleted format. It’s then up to the accreditation manager to review the changes. This includes identifying any policies, contracts, plans, or forms that were impacted, communicating the need for updates, and tracking the changes as they occur. Most importantly, these updates must be implemented at the point of care.
PowerDMS has licensing agreements with the major deemed status accreditation bodies such as AAAHC, ACHC, CIHQ, DNV, and TJC, as well as a multitude of specialty certification bodies. Thanks to our Standards as a Professional Service, you can add nearly any standards manual to PowerDMS. These agreements, paired with some powerful features, let you do the following:
- Map your policies, contract, plans (building, IC, EM, etc), forms, and other proofs of compliance to the standards.
- Receive notifications of updates, as well as notifications to review items attached to the updated/changed standard.
- Communicate and disseminate these changes quickly throughout your organization.
- Conduct team-oriented mock surveys to test and verify survey readiness.
Preparing for a survey with our Standards solution reduces preparation time by up to 60% when compared to paper methods.
Completing Policy Reviews and Updates Related to Standards Changes
Policy reviews aren’t only needed when a standard updates. Accreditation standards require organizations to have a documented process for regular policy reviews. It can be every 1–3 years, depending on your organization’s “policy” on policy reviews.
The Policy solution by PowerDMS features automated workflows and email reminders that let you take a “set it and forget it” approach to policy reviews.
- When a policy is due for review, a task is automatically added to your To-Do list
- Workflows make it easy to collaborate, gather input, and gain approvals
- Built-in dashboards and reports let you track policies in the approval process
- Side-by-side comparisons allow you to see all changes made to a document
Policy also integrates with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneDrive, and Google Drive so you can use the editing tools you already know and love.
Developing High-Quality Policy and Procedure Content
Developing policies, procedures, forms, audits, and training that meet the intent of accreditation standards can be a cumbersome, stress-inducing task. What if the intent of the standard has been misinterpreted? What if we don’t capture all of the requirements? What if we aren’t monitoring the correct things by the correct definition?
PowerDMS is here to alleviate all of these “What Ifs.” We partner with trusted providers whose content can be accessed, updated, distributed, and tracked for use in your facility – all from within the platform.
- MED-PASS Heaton Digital Documents:
- Designed for LTC, Home Health, and Hospice
- Includes policies, procedures, and job descriptions
- Joint Commission Resources:
- Designed for Hospitals, Critical Access, and Ambulatory Services (BH, HH, ASC)
- Includes access to their PolicySource manuals and their Big Book of Checklists – all versioned and updated as the resources are updated by JCR.
- Accreditation Resource Services (ARS) by CIHQ:
- Designed for Hospitals, Critical Access, and Ambulatory Services (BH, HH, ASC)
- Includes access to sample policies, procedures, audit tools, and required training modules – all updated and accessible in real-time to align with standards changes.
Next Steps
The Policy and Standards solutions by PowerDMS make it easy to manage policies and compliance so you can focus on what matters most – providing safe, high quality care. Fill out the quick form below to schedule a free consultation, and learn how PowerDMS can support your accreditation management goals.
Check out our next article Who we help for specific ways we work with different healthcare organizations to achieve their goals.