We need help!
“We need help with our audit program”. “Our internal auditing is expensive and leadership wants it to show value”. “We have all these trained auditors and nothing to show for it”. And finally, “our auditors will audit where they know they’ll find the known problems”.
These are quotes that BlueSynergy Associates hears in almost every conversation we have with DNVGL hospitals. These statements are coming from the individuals who are in charge of the audit program, the internal auditors, and of course leadership.
Who are we actually trying to satisfy with all these audits we need to do? The new ISO standard for 2015 knows that many stakeholders exist and that is why we need to identify our internal and external stakeholders and the context of our QMS.
At BlueSynergy Associates we talk about a new style, a more powerful approach to helping you set up your audit program to better demonstrate how finances are linked to providing patient care and then when you begin to show these linkages, the real sustainable improvements your hospital will then demonstrate, all using your accreditation. Just imagine, accreditation now begins to shed the perception of being an expense to becoming an asset which has tangible ROI.
Your hospital changed accreditation for a reason; the change is to better help you achieve your Mission and Vision. Now let’s change the way you manage, plan, conduct, and report your audits.
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What is going to help me change ?
Value-added auditing (VAA) is a proven method for looking at effectiveness of an organization’s operational and financial performance. It has its roots in the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) “Yellow Book”. The Yellow book is an in-depth look at the activities (processes) that affect finances. VAA has evolved to fully integrate a full process perspective while understanding the financial effect on the organization. Greg Hutchins, author of “Value-Added Auditing: The Standard Manual of Risk-Based Process Auditing” describes in his book the process for conducting practical, cost effective, risk based audits in many different functional areas.
Here is what some are saying about VAA.
“This approach to auditing represents a total paradigm shift. Instead of acting like policemen and auditing as punitive and after the fact, this new approach stresses collaborative team effort, participatory problem solving and proactive improvement rather than reactive corrections.” David Wallace, Former Director of Compliance, State of Texas
“Value-Added Auditing is the right way to uncover risks in today’s organizations. It delivers the in-depth diagnosis needed for proactive risk analysis and improvement”
Edward JMetzler, President – Accredo Corporation
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What does VAA mean?
Value-added auditing (VAA) can be defined as a systematic, objective appraisal by independent auditors to determine whether:
i) financial and operational controls are reliable
ii) organizational risk is identified and managed
iii) compliance to external requirements (NFPA, OSHA, etc.)
iv) conformance to ISO 9001, NIAHO and other applicable standards
v) efficient use of resources and
vi) the organizations objectives are effectively achieved.
While this is an exhaustive definition, it demonstrates the depth and value of the VAA. In a simplified form, VAA is truly an organizational performance audit.
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How long does it take to see these results?
Getting to this degree of internal auditing is something that the C-suite would love to see; yet it does not happen overnight. Most all audit programs that I’ve seen in healthcare are still in the ad-hoc stage. So, logic tells us to begin to move toward this level of performance auditing at a measured rate. Get education, practice, perfect, sustain and repeat. Most organizations state that the move to true performance auditing takes about 4 years. Regardless of the length of time, each cycle of education, practice, perfect and sustainment takes your auditors and their findings to the next level.
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How do I build a VAA Audit Program?
The four steps in the lifecycle of VAA include:
1. Managing the VAA
2. Planning the VAA
3. Conducting the VAA
4. Reporting the VAA results
Each of these steps contains multiple components. BlueSynergy Associates can help you organize these components into levels of complexity to allow for a measured approach. Utilizing your time and resources over a planned timeline will better ensure sustainable success. Slow and steady wins the race!
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What happens next?
In the next several newsletters, BlueSynergy Associates will introduce these four steps of VAA in a series of articles. We will outline each step and give examples of the components. We will also present a typical implementation strategy, one that usually lasts up to four years. The organizational reward for effective performance audits is both operational and financial, thus creating a safer patient environment. In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous healthcare environment, having a VAA program can help your organization not only survive, but excel!
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Question: What will you do and what will you NOT do to update your audit program to conform to the new 2015 standard?
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BlueSynergy continues to offer our complimentary webinars throughout the balance of 2015. These 60-minute webinars cover three important aspects of what you need to know.
1.Changes to the ISO 9001 standard
- Leadership, documentation, enhanced process approach and risk
2.Risk-based thinking
- Definition, implementation and integration strategy
3.How to best plan your transition
- Doing it right, not over-doing or under-doing it…a measured approach
We discuss these three aspects of your transition plan and share our experiences of having experienced previous ISO 9001 revisions.We outline a pragmatic approach for your transition that is based on your timeline and resources, all the while focusing on anticipated benefits to your hospital and your patients.
Feedback from our recent webinars indicates that we should ask you to invite others from your facility, such as Risk, Quality, Accreditation, Infection Prevention, etc. to join you in this FREE webinar. Space is limited to twenty persons per session to ensure that we have a manageable Q&A session after the presentation. To register for the FREE webinar or for more information, click on the button below.
You can always call us toll free at 1-844-424-7825 and press 2 (support) or you can email us at support@BlueSynergyAssociates.
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Now through November 30th, BlueSynergy will be giving one-half hour of transition advice FREE when you purchase all three (3) of the transition webinars.
These include:
- 2015 Transition Planning- A sixty (60) minute working webinar limited to five (5) participants to create a basic plan for your individual hospital to begin the transition plan to ISO 9001-2015. A Gantt chart will be used for the planning process. Cost is $199.00/person
- 2015 Changes- A sixty (60) minute working webinar limited to five (5) participants to discuss the new requirements using a cross-walk for 9001-2008 to 9001-2015. These changes include enhanced process management, new requirements for leadership, and risk-based thinking. Cost is $199.00/person
- Risk-based Thinking- A sixty (60) minute working webinar limited to five (5) participants to discuss the new requirement of risk-based thinking. Using your existing FMEA or risk tool, we will review and discuss how these activities may help you meet this new requirement. Cost is $199.00/person
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Dates from DNV-GL you need to understand
ISO 9001:2008 certificates will not be issued after March , 2017 (with some exceptions). That date is just a little over 15 months from now.
All certificates to ISO 9001:2008 will have a maximum expiration date of Septermber 22, 2018.
All certificates issued to 2008 edition need to be transitioned to the new standard by September 22, 2018. (When does your certificate expire?)
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Happy Thanksgiving! From all of us at BlueSynergy Associates
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