Resource:

Cedars-Sinai Health System Cures the Policy Management Ills

Case Study

Challenge: Cultural Transformation  Clinical Integration  Financial Sustainability  Care Continuum  

Content provided by AHA Endorsement partner: NAVEX Global

This study reviews the document management challenges faced by this hospital before installing PolicyTech's Policy and Procedure Manager (PPM).

Overview
In health care organizations large and small, policies and procedures are a critical part of the foundation for success. They must be current, accessible and reliable to users because they contain the key procedures and processes that produce excellence.

Ask any compliance professional and you will learn that outdated, inaccessible, or poorly communicated policies and procedures are often at the root of a quality or compliance issue. For this reason alone, every organization should assess their policy management activities and consider options for automating the process.

This study looks at Cedars-Sinai Health System’s (CSHS) path to an effective and efficient policy and procedure management system. It will review their document management challenges before installing NAVEX Global’s Policy & Procedure Manager® (PPM) as well as the internal processes that made way for the positive changes and quality results.

Customer Profile
Cedars-Sinai has grown over the past century from a small, local 12 bed hospital to one of the nation’s top four medical centers. They currently house thriving patient care and research practices. They are always on the lookout for state-of-the-art solutions to the ever-changing challenges of health care in today’s world.

The Challenge
Cedar-Sinai recognized that their hybrid approach to policy management needed an overhaul. As the organization grew and expanded services, so did the number of policies and procedures compounded by the increasing complexity of document management.

The Solution
Efficiency and managerial control increase when employees know their jobs and how to do them most effectively. Policy & Procedure Manager reduces stress and brings peace of mind to the complicated job of policy management.

The Result

  • Currently over 8,000 documents – or roughly 97% of all policies, procedures, forms and job aids – reside in PPM
  • The Policy Management Office consists of a manager and a management assistant, with technical support provided by their enterprise information services department.
  • Technical support requires less than 5 hours per week, and the manager spends about 60- 80% of their time involved in policy management activities.
  • Resources include a web page, Help Desk, twice monthly 2-hour classroom training and an optional PPM User’s Group forum once a month.
  • Classes in technical writing and are currently planned for document authors.

 

To learn more about this successful implementation, download the full case study.