The Georgia Scroll
October 1998
GROUPWARE APPLICATIONS
GO DIRECTLY TO THE BOTTOM LINE
By: J. Colin Mellon, SMS
More than ever before, healthcare executives are realizing the benefits associated with recent innovations and utilizing those applications to dramatically effect their bottom line.
Healthcare systems around the country are quickly adopting E-mail and Groupware technology throughout their networks as a means to reduce costs and improve efficiency - and the results are incredible.
Groupware is a term which refers to those applications which can be utilized, shared, and exchanged, among many users. E-mail is undoubtedly the most popular of these desktop applications and as its popularity continues to grow so does the depth of its effectiveness. Simply put, E-mail was developed as an electronic means of communication, however, based on its ubiquity and ease of use it has evolved into a client-server system that is a major component to many business critical systems.
Similar to other industries, healthcare is adopting the same type of strategy in attempts to eliminate manual processes in order to manage costs. By doing so, healthcare executives are able to streamline hospital procedures and operations providing an immediate and positive impact to operating expenditures.
In conjunction with E-mail, there have been many recent Groupware innovations and applications that are specifically designed for healthcare providers. One of the most innovative and cost effective applications has been the automation of policies and procedures. Standardizing policies and procedures at a healthcare institution is a prerequisite to quality care. JCAHO has specific requirements for reviewing, approving, managing, and archiving policies and procedures for healthcare providers. The Groupware applications allow users to access a repository of enterprise-wide policies and procedures from their E-mail which include workflows for reviewing, approving, reading, and archiving policies and procedures.
Once a new policy is drafted, the application enables the owner to route it to a group of reviewers for parallel or serial review. To prevent any one person from breaking the chain in a serial review cycle, a parameter can be set to automatically move the document on to the next person for review upon a pre-determined time limit. Each reviewer can use strikeout text and permanent pen highlighting to quickly make changes to the original. Upon review, the next reviewer on the reviewer list is automatically notified via E-mail that the document requires review. The policy author can set a flag to be notified via E-mail at the end of the review cycle or upon completion by each reviewer. Each reviewer is automatically logged including a time and date stamp in the permanent audit trail.
Upon completion of the review cycle, the owner can then mark a policy for approval. Once the approvers have been identified, E-mail notification is automatically sent to each designated approver. Upon approval, each policy is signed using the approver’s digital signature and sent on to the next approver. Each approver is automatically logged including a time and date stamp in the permanent audit trail.
Upon completion of the approval cycle, the policy can be made public or sent out to be read by designed groups. For example, a clinical policy on a nursing procedure can be sent out to the entire nursing staff to be read by selecting a single group at the click of a button. E-mail is automatically sent to each reader notifying the recipient that the policy needs to be read. Upon reading, the reader’s name is time and date stamped and permanently logged to the reader’s list.
Based on the review cycle of 12 or 24 months, the system automatically notifies the policy owner via E-mail three months ahead of the review date that a policy is coming up for review. The existing policy can be left in place while a new version is routed through the review and approval process. Upon approval of the new version, the prior version can be marked for automatic archiving into a separate database for storage for 21 years.
Additionally, applications such as Helpdesk, Project Tracking, Vendor Contract Tracking, and others can be utilized to realize operational efficiencies in many different areas of a healthcare enterprise. By reducing operational costs associated with JCAHO and corporate compliance issues, cost savings associated with Groupware applications will go directly to your bottom line.
Last modified: June 22, 2001