You Can Keep Updating Policies and Procedures Using Outdated Tools. But Only If You Want To.

If there’s one thing everyone in ASC management can agree on, it’s that old habits, even the bad ones, die hard.

How else to explain ASCs who continue to maintain binders full of hard copy documents as the hub of their policy management systems?

Working with ASCs, we’ve found even those who made the leap to SharePoint document management 10 years ago tend to keep physical and digital documents in multiple folders and places. They do this as a risk mitigation tactic.

Unfortunately, this kind of institutional redundancy causes their staff to spend too much time looking for the documents they need. We talk to managers and staff every day who know what they’re doing now is completely inefficient. However, the pitfall of clinging to old habits blocks efforts to implement even the most painfully obvious process improvements.

Technology changes rapidly, and when the tools you’re using are overmatched by the needs of the job you’re using them for, it’s time to change.

Given increased reimbursement and regulatory transparency required for delivering patient care in the era of the Affordable Care Act, it’s risky to keep existing policy and procedure management processes on a SharePoint system or in binders.

Standing up to greater compliance scrutiny and being prepared for unannounced audits in the era of the Affordable Care Act requires the ability to create, share, and produce policy and procedure documents in real time.

This article will highlight tools from PolicyStat that can help you get ahead of policy compliance and be a leader in patient care. The platform is easy to implement, simple and quick for staff to learn, and best of all, it’s surprisingly affordable.

To get more done with less, do things differently

Everyone you’ll need to convince to go the digital policy and procedure route will probably agree that the way you’re managing your policies and procedures now takes too much time. Yet even with all of the resources you’re currently utilizing in your outdated system, it still isn’t fool-proof.

Fortunately, there’s a better way. Here’s a quick rundown of how PolicyStat’s digital authoring tools eliminate the inefficiencies and confusion of manual document creation:

• Automatic updating ensures that all document contributors and reviewers are working with the latest version.
• Action-required notification settings can be configured for individuals, departments, or throughout your organization.
• Delivery of new or updated policy documents with signature acknowledgment and return functionality means the end of chasing approvals or lengthy approval committee meetings.

Boiled down, PolicyStat’s solution eliminates log jams and inefficiencies because no one involved in the policy management process has to be in the same place to be productive.

Access, access, access

Whether it’s delivering the right care to patients or being able to locate documents for an inspector, access means everything in today’s ASC operating environment.

With a SharePoint environment, remote access is often cumbersome and frustrating for users. It’s also over-built for the vast majority of users who want to simply find the policy they need.

The PolicyStat solution offers real-time document accessibility from any location via any web-capable desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Which means:

• When on-premise, staff members can quickly access policy and procedure documents without logging in.
• Because the documents are HTML-formatted, they can be keyword searched and quickly located.
• Content can be organized by department, service line, function, or facility without duplication or inconsistencies.
• Managers can be aware of impending expirations in advance with dashboard alerts.
• Faster document access, shortened audit surveys, and minimized audit stress means you can focus on delivering exceptional patient care.

We’ve saved the best for last

Unlike other server-based solutions, digital policy management from PolicyStat doesn’t consume huge chunks of IT resources. That’s because our solution requires no additional purchased hardware or software to license and maintain.

Compared to the cost of your current approach to policy management or SharePoint system, PolicyStat can be implemented at a low cost that might shock other stakeholders in your ASC.

It’s quite possible for a PolicyStat digital solution to be implemented in as few as four to six weeks, saving precious time to focus on running a leading, profitable ASC.*

What all this means for your ASC is that you can:

• Stop wasting time on redundant processes that drain energy and increase audit risks and the potential for patient errors in your ASC.

• Start spending more time with patients and improving outcomes.

*For illustrative purposes only. Implementation time will vary depending on factors such as quality of the facility’s documents, how documents and folders are currently organized and accessed, and the organization’s ability to respond to requests for certain information and task approvals.

Ready to stop?

If you have two minutes, watch our demo to learn how you can automatically begin to shift the thousands of hours you’re spending on policy and procedure management into focusing more time on delivering exceptional patient care.

You can also contact us to set up a live demo and learn why we have a 99 percent client retention rate and a 99.8 percent customer support satisfaction score.