Compliance - it is a word often associated with negative language such as confusion, stress and perhaps even abhorrence.
Fulfilling the ever-growing list of regulations, outcomes and standards involves a lot of work and almost as much paperwork. This in turn requires precious time and energy that as dental professionals we would rather be spending with our patients.
Nevertheless, it is an integral aspect of our daily practice lives and one of the many important responsibilities we carry each time we go to work. Not only ensuring the safety of both patients and colleagues, compliance with the various regulations is also a mandatory requirement for continued registration, so attention to detail is essential.
In an industry now surrounded with an increased amount of litigation, the same care must be taken when documenting your practice’s compliance. Aside from protecting you and your colleagues should a patient raise a concern, evidencing your compliance is particularly important for when the unavoidable CQC inspection comes around.
Keeping documentation to demonstrate compliance with key outcomes such as infection control, equipment maintenance, risk assessments, radiation protection and staff training can make the whole process a lot less stressful. But whether you are recording your compliance with health and safety regulations, essential standards, waste management or insurance, all credentials must be kept up-to-date and accessible. That way, whatever an inspector asks, you can relax knowing that you are prepared with thorough proof of your compliance.
You should therefore detail what daily, weekly and monthly protocols are in place within your practice, how and when they are implemented and by whom. Also make a note of what precautions you take to ensure your processes are as effective as possible.
This is where auditing and self-assessment comes in. It’s important to remember that not only should you record the outcome of your regular evaluations, but also how the results are reviewed and any actions that are consequently taken. What’s more, all members of your team must be involved so that they all have the knowledge and understanding necessary to maintain a safe environment and facilitate the success of inspections. But how are you supposed to do all this while still running a busy practice efficiently and delivering excellent patient service and clinical care? It may seem like a somewhat impossible balancing act at times, but it is crucial so that nothing is forgotten or compromised. Thankfully, there are options available to you and your team that can help ease the burden of compliance.
Utilisation of self-assessment tools designed by experts can provide a convenient and effective way of auditing your practice, while ensuring that nothing is missed. These usually offer simple methods of evaluating your practice, quickly highlighting any areas that need further attention and suggesting objective and easy-to-implement improvements. The best solutions also present an opportunity for more detailed information or more personalised guidance; dedicated advisors; who can perform an unbiased assessment of your practice and help you unravel the complicated compliance process even further. For example DBG provides an array of highly qualified and experienced professionals that can help prepare both your practice and staff for upcoming inspections.
So, while the area of compliance might be broad, complex and perhaps somewhat mundane, there are ways of making the whole process simpler, more effective and less stressful. External support can make your life much easier, often generating new ideas and strategies to help you enhance your
compliance, saving you time and money. By making the most of such opportunities, you can ensure that when questioned your responses are accurate and that your evidence of compliance can be fully validated for a successful formal inspection.
With the correct documentation in place and expert support and guidance, you can approach the next inspection with the utmost confidence. Perhaps then you will replace words associated with compliance with those more like simple, prepared and effortless.