When a pandemic like COVID-19 strikes, there is a serious need for healthcare facilities and staff to be focused on infection control and patient safety.
Healthcare facilities should be diligent in raising awareness of proper practices and have their staff review regulatory and agency infectious control policies to ensure their internal policies and procedures are in line with such. This includes reviewing numerous guidelines that are provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or other healthcare oversight organizations to stay up to date on the current status of proper procedures to aid in containment. Healthcare staff should ensure that any required training be completed as well on a regular consistent basis. The result of such activities is being prepared when a pandemic occurs.
Compliance plays a key role in managing and maintaining standards of both healthcare staff and the facility in normal times, but in times of medical uncertainty, compliance in combination with internal policies and procedures become the bedrock of providing clarity to healthcare staff on how to operate in such times.
The keys to simplifying continuous compliance, reducing risk and proper preparedness are:
- Digitize your healthcare facility with a platform focused on patient safety and risk management to streamline the traditional paper–based process. By doing so, following agency and regulatory standards, in combination with internal policies and procedures become effortless, allowing healthcare staff to spend much more time focusing on patient care and infection control.
- Review and verify that your healthcare staff are up to date on applicable training and notified of proper policies and procedures that need to be highlighted. Manage their roles and track that employees are effectively logging daily operations to stay in compliance during such uncertain times. Preferably use a cloud-based platform where employees can take advantage of WFH situations.
- Report incidents and keep a detailed log on all of the cases that occur within your facility. Utilize a digital platform to make reporting easy and efficient in cases of emergency from any device.
Accreditation agencies encourage healthcare facilities to have a plan in place for dealing with infectious patients in case there is an increase in the spread of a contagion. Agencies like The Joint Commission, AAAHC, and AAAASF have all provided standards on how to deal with cases of COVID-19 and how to prepare facilities so that they can stay compliant in the face of a pandemic.
HOTB Software has been working with healthcare facilities to simplify continuous compliance, reducing risk and proper preparedness as they manage and maneuver their way through this COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of HOTB, in times of medical uncertainty and otherwise, is to promote the highest level of patient care and provide the tools to healthcare facilities to achieve that, such as HOTB’s Surgical Center Toolbox.
To learn more about how we can help you deliver the highest level of patient care, please visit: https://hotbsoftware.com
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