Establishing and maintaining compliance with vendors to provide the best care

Working with vendors can be challenging. In this guest post, Larry Lacombe, VP of program development, support and FM compliance at a company specializing in facilities management, safety, environment of care, emergency management and compliance, tells you how to provide quality care while remaining compliant.

While all hospitals strive to establish and maintain a safe, functional environment, 100% compliance isn’t as easy as it seems. Having an environment that provides the best possible care to patients is a common goal for caregivers and executives alike. However, 70% of hospitals surveyed by The Joint Commission (TJC) in 2017 were non-compliant with this requirement.

The top five requirements identified as “not compliant” for hospital accreditation from TJC’s surveys include providing and maintaining systems for extinguishing fires (86% non-compliant); managing risks associated with utility systems (73%); providing and maintaining building features that protect individuals from fire and smoke hazards (72%); reducing the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices and supplies (72%); and establishing and maintaining a safe, functional environment (70%).

The theme running through these requirements is they’re all related to hospitals’ systems. These systems can require extensive maintenance, and hospitals often outsource control of these systems to third-party vendors where inconsistencies can arise. However, these issues can be mitigated to help your hospital reach compliance.