Technology has been a double-edged sword in regards to policy management. As medical records go online and telemedicine becomes the norm, new regulations have come into effect that require policies and procedures to go with them. At the same time, with advances in technology, many of the challenges of policy management such as, out-dated policies and procedures, multiple versions, and time consuming review processes, are easily addressed.

DOTmed News: Are hospital policies traditionally being managed rather haphazardly and accessing them is not easy, or efficient? What needs to be done to correct that?

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SJ: Traditionally, policies have been printed on paper and kept in binders. As you can imagine, a paper and binder system is cumbersome, and accessing, reviewing, and updating policies is incredibly time-consuming. For example, if a nurse on the floor needed to reference a policy on the disposal of medical waste, she would be required to pull a binder off a shelf, and flip through the pages until she found the proper policy. Once she found the policy, it may, or may not, be the proper version.

As technology has advanced, many hospitals have transitioned to storing policies on a shared drive, or an intranet. Though this was a huge leap, there were still challenges in accessing, reviewing, and updating policies. Today, it is imperative, especially for large hospitals and hospital networks, to have an automated, searchable, web-based policy management system. Policies can be accessed in seconds, rather than minutes, and the process for reviewing and updating policies is seamless.

DOTmed News: What are the ramifications of not being organized in this regard?

SJ: Not having a robust and efficient policy management system can, quite literally, make a difference between life and death. When policies and procedures that guide patient care are not easily accessible, or kept up to date, it is more likely that mistakes will be made, and patients will suffer.

Without an efficient policy management system, nurses, and other direct care staff, will spend valuable time searching for policies that could be spent on more important tasks. Having policies that are out-dated also leaves hospitals open to litigation in the case of medical errors. Loss of accreditation from local, state, or national accreditation bodies is another potential ramification of disorganized and out-dated policies.

DOTmed News: In your estimate what percentage of hospitals is now automated, and what do you project in the next couple of years?

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