
We don’t have to tell you again, but for the sake of being absolutely clear, policies and procedures are the backbone to a properly run hospital. They provide an organization with the clarity it needs to run efficiently day to day by streamlining internal processes. But often times, we make mistakes when writing policies. This can be because of any number of reasons, the biggest culprit is not realizing that we’re making the mistake at all–half the battle is after all, knowing. So, what’s the most common mistake that people make when writing healthcare policies?
By far, one of the most common mistakes hospitals make is creating policies for the sake of creating policies. It’s an easy mistake to make. What better way to cover all your bases than to create a policy for everything you can think of?
Well, believe it or not, creating arbitrary policies is the last thing you should do. In fact, doing so can overwhelm your staff and cause confusion. So instead of a policy on employee hygiene, a policy on visible tattoos, and a policy on hair colour, you should have one concise policy for appearance or dress code. Creating multiple destinations to find answers creates the chance that answers won’t be found at all.
A good rule of thumb is to organize your policies based on how your accrediting organization models policies. Excess policies should be reviewed and removed if found to be unnecessary.
Being responsible for an entire organization’s compliance program can be difficult, but you know as well as we do just how important they are and the problems associated with poor management. Download our latest ebook: 6 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Healthcare Policies and Procedures to learn more and find ways to improve your program!