“You don’t
want to overanalyze or make it harder than it is.”
Michael Greller,
caddie for 2015 Master’s Golf Champion Jordan Spieth
I came across this quote as I was reading
all the great stories of the 2015 Master’s Golf tournament, and it struck me
that this is my message in a nutshell to all those wonderful organizations that
work so hard at making their facilities better.
You don’t want to overanalyze or make it harder than it is. As with ISO 9001:2008, the 2015 version of
the standard has already begun to cause anxiety among many of our clients. Not to mention the many frustrations that come
with the day to day implementation of an ISO program, such as the bogey of
document control, the double bogey of good cause analysis for corrective action
or the triple bogey of trying to maintain the internal audit process. From our beginnings, ICH has strived to be
the caddie not only for organizations wanting to shoot “par” as they prepare
for accreditation and certification, but also for those organizations wanting
to find themselves at the top of the leader board for performance and
excellence.
Sometimes it amazes me when organizations find
themselves with as many different audit programs as the back nine of any golf
course. And very often, they find themselves
struggling just to complete the course of audits they have set in place. We commonly see Environment of Care Audits,
Infection Control Audits, Tracer Audits, Mock Audits, ISO Audits and the list
goes on and on. Is it any wonder that
the organization quickly finds itself overwhelmed and 6 over par when the
accreditation and certification surveyors arrive on site with their score
cards? As your caddie, ICH is offering
you the best “driver” in our bag.
The Master Surveyor Program
“The Birdie”: Through the Master Surveyor Program, ICH will
endeavor to raise the level of your auditing teams closer to that of a surveyor
employed by a registrar or accreditation body, or that would be contracted for
a Mock Survey. ICH will train three
clinicians, three generalists and three life safety specialists within your
organization. This provides the
organization with three fully trained
Mock Survey teams within your own organization to be mobilized at any given
time.
“The Eagle”: In raising the level of your auditing cadre,
we anticipate that organizations that complete this course will find themselves
to be very comfortable and accreditation
ready when the surveyors arrive.
“Double Eagle”: Wow, wouldn’t it be great if we could combine
all the audit programs within the organization down to one program? No longer would a hospital have to navigate
nine holes in the eleventh hour, just one.
ICH will customize a specific single audit program with your approval
that will completely meet all regulatory requirements. This one
system will greatly reduce not only the number of man hours that are spent
each and every year to maintain the system and report the results, but also the
number of man days required for implementation of organizational audits.
“Hole in One”: Here is the best part, return on investment. It is
estimated that the average expenditure of all the audit programs within a healthcare
organization is $150,000 dollars per year.
This is not difficult to imagine when you include internal training
programs, external training programs, retraining due to attrition, salaries to
do something besides primary responsibilities, maintenance of multiple
programs, reporting, third party mock surveys and on and on and on. Just imagine what the cost savings could
reach.
If your audit programs have become more of
a sand bunker than a putting green, ICH is offering you a sand wedge to help
dig you out.
Woody “The Caddie” Conway
P.S. Thanks to my caddie, ICH Team Member
Tracey Martin, for his expert assistance with golf references.
For more information, please visit
ich-global.com or call 937-569-4134.
