2023. We’re twenty-three years into the new millennium. Medicare is close to sixty years old. Time is marching on quickly—relentlessly, some would say. New Year’s Eve parties continue the great tradition of partying into the wee hours, ringing in the New Year with a toast, and getting up January 1st with a renewed optimism, a positive outlook on life, and a list of resolutions to improve. You might say it is a great example of continuous quality improvement.
HQAA Blog
Topics: Employee Training, Security, Quality Improvement, Renewing Accreditation, Compliance, Process Improvement, Materials Management, Showroom, Retail, Warehouse, Work, Disaster Preparedness, Business Practices, Marketing, Equipment
In early November, each year, our minds turn to Thanksgiving. No surprise that Thanksgiving ranks as one of many American’s favorite holidays. It’s a time of positive reflection, a time to literally give thanks for all the blessings in our lives, and the gateway to the triumvirate of important holidays (Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s Day). And then there’s the food: a grand feast of turkey, ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, rolls, and pecan and pumpkin pie. For many people, it’s a glorious four-day weekend of eating, watching football games, visiting with family and friends, and reflection on the past year.
Topics: Quality, Employee Training, Process Improvement, Showroom, Retail, Delivery, Competence, Work, Customer Service, Business Practices, Marketing, Infection Control, Equipment, DMEPOS
Nobody wants to have a customer complain about any aspect of their business. Complaints are negative feedback, indicative of an unhappy customer, and generally a bad thing. They can be harsh or mild, constructive or destructive, fair or unfair, deserved or not deserved. But at the core of any customer complaint, there is feedback about a customer experience, or at least their perception of that experience. And this information and feedback can be a treasure trove of information to use to improve the customer experience, your internal processes, and how your organization does business.
Topics: Employee Training, Quality Improvement, HME Accreditation Requirements, Process Improvement, Complaint Process, Customer Service, Business Practices
Effective ‘Onboarding’ & Improving Employee Retention Rates
Statistics vary, but a general rule of thumb is that 35-45% of all new employees will leave the company that hires them within two years. One piece of the data that is consistent is that the rule of thumb applies to all industries and sectors, high wage earners and workers making minimum wage, young and old, male and female. That statistic should stun managers, supervisors, and business owners and should serve as a “call to arms” encouraging companies to study how they hire and orient new employees to their jobs.
Topics: Employee Training, Quality Improvement, Process Improvement, Competence, Business Practices
New Year’s Day --with its resolutions, new beginnings, and fresh start attitude-- is a perfect time of year to reflect on continuous improvement and making ourselves better as not only individuals, but as companies set up to serve the public and our customers. It is also a good time to review ways to improve our bottom line, our operational efficiencies, our general attitude, and our business practices. This sometimes requires revisiting mistakes from our past, things we did wrong, and looking at how we’ve improved them. Deficiencies from our past surveys are certainly a worthwhile thing to look at it in an effort to improve.
Topics: Renewing Accreditation, Quality Standards, HQAA Accreditation, HME Accreditation Requirements, Process Improvement, Avoiding Deficiencies
Topics: Quality, Employee Training, HIPAA, Personnel Files, Quality Improvement, Billing, Quality Standards, Patient File Requirements, Compliance, Patient Privacy, Process Improvement, Materials Management, Avoiding Deficiencies, Showroom, Retail, Delivery, Warehouse, Safety Officer
Quality improvement (QI) is often cited by owners and managers as one of the most difficult processes to understand. Programs are established and resources spent in an effort to maintain compliance in this area. Organizations report to surveyors that the process of maintaining their QI program can be cumbersome, time consuming, and useless.
Topics: Quality Improvement, Process Improvement
DME Accreditation: How to Improve Quality & Performance Documentation
When it comes to DME accreditation, surveyors receive multiple inquiries on an ongoing basis regarding how to monitor quality continuously and improve the performance of their organization.
Topics: Quality Improvement, Quality Standards, HME Accreditation Requirements, Process Improvement
Who is Anti-Quality? 4 Ways to Improve Your HME Business
Who is Anti-Quality?
I would dare say that in a room of 100 people not one would raise their hand in response to that question. We all want a “quality of life”. As consumers we all want quality products; quality in the foods we eat, in the goods we purchase, in the cars we drive. We may not consciously think, “I want to buy a can of quality vegetables”, but we sure do all want to believe that the vegetables are of a certain quality with a certain taste and processed with a high level of sanitation and safety. We all seek quality if not once but numerous times a day even if it isn’t a conscious thought.
Topics: Quality, Quality Improvement, Process Improvement