Archive for May, 2009
Vendor Program Audits: Who’s at the Door
Last week, I promised that the next few posts would look at how hospitals are auditing the participation in vendor programs. We’ll kick off the review with this Best Practice example from WellStar’s Coding Assurance/Compliance Department.
WellStar is a five-hospital system in the rapidly growing northern suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia area. Like most healthcare systems, one of the goals of its program is to manage the access of vendor representatives to support patient safety and to minimize staff interruptions. Three months after implementing sign in and badging guidelines, WellStar wanted to assess the impact of the effort. A straightforward field review of its vendor program identified opportunities to clarify the program practices and improve participation.
By observing 10 representatives as they came into a WellStar facility and conducting informal intercept interviews, WellStar gained valuable insight that improved its program. What they learned:
- More vendors are using the appropriate entrance point than previously
- Some departments actively send unregistered reps to the sign in station; others do not. Some are denying red flagged vendors access; others do not.
- Reality in the field identified gaps between system requirements and department requirements
- Questions that define risk tiers and credential requirements cause confusion for some and lead to mis-classification.
- Some reps sign in under false or shared names to game the system.
With learning like this, WellStar is already improving its program with a few tweaks to its program. We’re finding other customers making similar changes, such as.
- Requiring badge photos to eliminate registration sharing.
- Simplifying questions about business relationship that define credential tier at registration to improve consistency and rep participation.
- Further refining department level requirements and integrate those within the vendor program.
- Holding departments, as well as vendors, responsible for accurate participation.
Consider taking a couple of hours to watch what happens in your facilities. Simple adjustments might make your program more successful for all.
(Vendors: Update your WellStar registration.)
Add comment May 28, 2009
Vendor Program Audit
Our school system gives each student an agenda at the start of the school year. It’s a basic utilitarian calendar — columns for each day of the week, rows for each class, and a resulting grid where they can write daily assignments and tests. My middle-schooler has had one of these for seven years now. Using an agenda should be second nature by now.
It’s not.
That’s why when we started noticing an increasing number of forgotten assignments, my wife and I instituted the Agenda Audit. Each night when he announces he’s finished his homework, one of us asks to see his agenda. The resulting conversations go something like this:
Me: Why aren’t there any assignments written down for Spanish this week?
Him: I wrote down the test. Was I supposed to write homework assignments, too?
or
Me: Have you finished all your homework for tomorrow?
Him (with exasperated voice and rolling eyes): Yes
Me (opening agenda): Where’s this math assignment? Let me see that one.
Him (bewildered): Math? Oh I forgot about that.
I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I don’t think that he’s intentionally forgetting assignments. But to a 13-year-old, homework only gets in the way of what’s really important — video games and sports.
Several of our customers have noted the same thing with their vendor programs. Initial enthusiasm and participation dies down. Staff and reps start forgetting the procedure.
Maybe you need a Vendor Program Audit. Over the next couple of posts, we’ll give you tips from hospitals who have conducted their own Vendor Program Audits to give you some ideas.
Add comment May 18, 2009
Swine Flu and Vendor Credentialing
Tracking the immunization status of healthcare industry reps (HCIR) in clinical areas is one of the main drivers of many hospital vendor credentialing programs. But Vendormate has always recommended that health care systems think of the application as a vendor management solution, not just a clinical rep database tool.
Now concerns about H1N1 (swine flu) virus have prompted a number of hospitals to leverage the unique communication capabilities of Vendormate VISION to alert all vendor reps to new temporary procedures.
Messages range from the gentle reminder to stay away if you don’t feel well to access lock downs. Here’s one example:
To all vendors visiting UMass Memorial Medical Center:
The Centers for Disease Control has confirmed cases of 2009 H1N1 “Swine” Influenza in Massachusetts. We are therefore asking all vendors to limit their visits to the medical center to those that cannot be reasonably postponed. Also, if you or your staff are experiencing any of the typical symptoms of flu (fever, muscle aches, headache, cough, sore throat), please reschedule your visit or send someone else in your place. This is especially important for all vendors who have staff routinely on site to deliver supplies and equipment or to service medical center programs.
I appreciate your cooperation. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you.
And one more:
If you have symptoms of a respiratory illness please do not visit our facilities. If you have had the flu please postpone your visit until you have no more symptoms and it has been at least 7 days since the onset of your symptoms. Sales related business may be carried out by phone or e-mail. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Self Regional Management
This use of the vendor database and communication capability of the Vendormate VISION tool may not have been the intended application, but may turn out to be one of the most powerful.
1 comment May 1, 2009
