Tip: Safeguard quality of care in your organization
Compliance Monitor, July 29, 2009
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Although you don’t directly treat patients, you can do a lot to improve their care. Compliance officers should do the following to safeguard quality of care in their organizations:
- Ensure compliance with state law and Joint Commission requirements for external reporting of adverse events.
- Investigate allegation of falsified medical records related to patient care.
- Learn Joint Commission patient safety requirements. See www.jointcommission.org for details.
- Regularly obtain reports within your institution on specific patient safety projects.
- Make certain that an internal reporting system exists for serious adverse events, their causes, and efforts to prevent recurrence. Review these adverse events.
- Become familiar with system requirements to ensure patient safety and raise the issue of patient safety implications of new technology.
- Regularly place patient safety concerns on the agendas of board and executive committee meetings.
- Include physicians, nurses, and other professional personnel in safety and quality decisions.
- Investigate patient and family concerns about safety and quality.
- Communicate your institution’s commitment to improving quality and avoiding errors as part of your compliance communications.
This tip was adapted from The Compliance Officer’s Handbook, 2nd edition. For more information about the book or to order your copy, click here.
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