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Seeing the benefits of using standards and compliance checklists

Ambulatory Safety Monitor, January 26, 2006

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The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to assess your compliance with accreditation standards and plan compliance activities for the upcoming year. One effective way to do this is by creating and using tracking checklists.

A tracking checklist is designed to record when you complete these activities. "The main reason for using it is to get more organized," says accreditation consultant Pat Ferrigno of Winton, CA. "It provides a structure. The checklists outline for the staff of the facility what needs to be done. They can simply check off and enter the date when they complete a given task, helping them stay on track."

If you incorporate checklists into your facility, you should find that your daily operations run more smoothly because you will have an easy reference for determining which activities were completed and which still need attention. You will also find that using these checklists as part of your routine operations will come in handy when your facility has its accreditation survey, either scheduled or unscheduled.

"Many organizations run into problems because the initial accreditation is like an open-book test-they know exactly what the accreditation association wants and everyone is excited about the survey," Ferrigno says. "But keeping the facility accredited is the real trick. Suddenly the accreditation association is scheduling the next survey and the organization hasn't been able to keep up," she adds.

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