In the medical industry, organizations are constantly seeking ways to increase efficiency, improve quality and reduce costs. However, it can be difficult to know where to start. I have had the good fortune to work with many organizations and found that rethinking your business management processes & procedures can make a surprising difference in the efficiency of your operations. From my experience, it's time to make a change when:

1. You depend upon paper forms that are copied and placed in numerous locations, approved by multiple individuals, and audited manually.
The cost of manual processes to organizations can be significant in both inefficiencies and the added cost of resources to organize them. Your team may never complain about the time they spend locating and updating paper forms, replacing outdated information, manually replicating and filing the documents, and tracking lost documents. Why don't they complain? Because that is what you hired them for and unless they know of a better alternative, they will do the best job they can with the resources they have.  

2. You supplement IT systems with desk procedures and spreadsheets.
Your core business applications may have supported your operations when they were first installed. However, your business requirements don't stand still and frequently the applications can't keep up. Rather than incur additional IT expenses, you have adapted to change by adding desk procedures and spreadsheets into your process. Spreadsheets can be flexible and sophisticated, but they are not always the right solution.  Are you managing your critical business processes from manual spreadsheets?  How do you explain and remedy "multiple versions of the truth"?

3. You invest considerable effort into manually consolidating data to complete tasks or make management decisions. 
Sometimes it takes a lot of data to make the right decisions. But if that data is scattered across multiple systems, databases, and spreadsheets it can take significant time to pull the data together.  Does your decision-making and management process rely on complex data consolidation by experienced staff? Is this the most effective use of their time; are you prepared for the day they take a different job?

4. You use personal technology to be more effective at your job. 
With technology so affordable, your staff may bring their own devices to work; use public cloud storage or other technology that is out of your control. This is a sign your technology is seriously out of date. Where is your critical business data being accessed from and stored? Is your data secure and compliant with regulatory requirements?

5. You work in a highly regulated industry requiring detailed auditing and tracking capabilities.
The sheer amount of paperwork and detailed tracking required for regulatory compliance can be daunting. Managing this on paper and spreadsheets is an exposure waiting to happen. Does regulatory compliance keep you up at night?

If these signs sound familiar, it's probably time you start looking for a change. Automated and optimized business processes can deliver cost and quality improvements while easing minds, facilitating audits, and making better use of your valuable staff.

Learn how VACAVA can help you.  Contact me today at tbird@vacava.com. 

About VACAVA Inc.
VACAVA's mission is to deliver high-quality, affordable custom applications that allow companies to reengineer their existing processes and operate more efficiently and effectively. VACAVA's solutions are tailored exactly to the needs of the organization, allowing it to work with companies of all sizes, from fledgling ventures to Fortune 500 companies.

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Anyone who works with regulatory documentation knows it can be difficult to stay on top of all the associated documents, requirements and deadlines. Let one aspect of the process slip your mind and you’ll feel like you are watching the ark sail away as the water rises around you. Failing to maintain proper regulatory documentation can end up costing your organization both money and your good reputation, making it more difficult to acquire new business and funding.

The procedures for managing regulatory documents can pose organizational problems. Most organizations track and complete these forms on paper. The forms need to be approved by multiple people, copied and stored in numerous places, which is made even more complicated when there are multiple locations in a network that need to maintain the same information. This leads to dozens of chances to miss a deadline, misplace a form or end up with incorrect information being submitted.

An opportunity to improve efficiency and reduce cost

Recently, a major Minnesota healthcare provider realized the value of changing their process for lab certification and accreditation management. With 190 labs running over 2 million tests per year, the provider’s process of manually tracking certificate completion, maintenance and expiration dates in a spreadsheet was challenging.

Collaborating with VACAVA Inc, a custom solution provider, they designed and implemented a software application which simplifies data collection, management and access. The cloud-based implementation enables remote data entry in a real-time sharing environment and introduces features like certification renewal notifications, compliance reports, profile management, certificate archiving and automated certification/accreditation form population. With the help of this new solution, the organization has increased its efficiency and reduced its costs.

Reducing the complexity and cost of clinical trial regulatory document management

A major cancer center also recognized the opportunity to dramatically reduce management complexity and cost by transforming their clinical trial regulatory document process.  This comprehensive cancer center offers its patients opportunities to participate in more than 500 clinical trials at a multitude of locations across the country. They simplified their clinical trial regulatory documents collection, management and access by collaborating with VACAVA, Inc. to design and implement an affordable custom application specific to their needs.

Paper documentation has been replaced with easy-to-create online forms, a single source of online information has eliminated confusion caused by multiple paper versions, and all signatures are obtained via electronic signature. The cloud implementation enables remote review of regulatory documents to ease the review process performed by monitors and auditors. This new application has enabled the institution to significantly increase efficiency and quality, while reducing the cost of its regulatory document management process.

VACAVA. Inc.

VACAVA’s mission is to deliver high-quality, affordable custom applications that allow companies to reengineer their existing processes and operate more efficiently and effectively. VACAVA’s solutions are tailored exactly to the needs of the organization, allowing us to work with companies of all sizes, from fledgling ventures to Fortune 500 companies.

Learn how VACAVA can help your organization. Contact me today at tbird@vacava.com.

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That’s where VACAVA’s LabRight Certification comes in.

LabRight manages the details of your certifications so you don’t have to. You can store lab profiles, stay aware of renewal dates and create easy-to-read reports for efficient auditing, all in one handy resource. Plus, when it comes time to renew your certifications and accreditations, the software automatically fills out the forms for you, eliminating the efficiency and quality concerns associated with manual form completion.

Your lab’s resources shouldn’t be tied up in continually monitoring certification deadlines or paying costly penalties for missing them. The less energy you’re compelled to devote to logistics, the more you will be able to retain for the tasks that truly matter.

LabRight can assist in a variety of areas, including but not limited to:

• CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments)
• CAP (College of American Pathologists)
• AABB (American Association of Blood Banks)
• AOA (American Osteopathic Association)
• ASHI (American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics)
• COLA (Commission on Office Laboratory Accreditation)
• TJC (The Joint Commission)

Want to learn more about VACAVA’s LabRight Certification, and the benefits it can offer you? Visit www.vacava.com/labright.

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VACAVA’s mission, since its founding in 1996, has been to deliver high-quality, custom applications that allow companies to reengineer their existing processes and operate more efficiently and effectively. VACAVA’s solutions are tailored exactly to the needs of the organization, allowing it to work with companies of all sizes, from fledgling ventures to Fortune 500 companies. VACAVA’s process is highly intuitive and user-centric, a hybrid of Agile Software Development and rapid application development enhanced by proprietary rapidBIZ application development tools.

Terry joined VACAVA from IBM, bringing with him a keen knowledge of how technology can be leveraged to solve problems and create opportunities. He was a leader in the application of artificial intelligence-based tools to simplify and accelerate the configuration and ordering of IBM hardware. Additionally, he managed worldwide IBM Partners relationships and technology development, which gave him insight into the ways in which providers can work with their clients to integrate new technology to create business opportunities and robust growth

Terry’s experience with VACAVA is also informed by his time spent with the United States Armed Forces. Directly out of school, he began his career in technology as part of the US Navy’s submarine service, participating in the sorts of missions that are the stuff of fictional stories. As the Sonar Supervisor, he was in part responsible for the ship’s safety, which prepared him well for a career in detailed and evidence-based decision-making.

With his experience across a wide range of markets and industries, Terry is uniquely positioned to help businesses improve their effectiveness, and to explain to them the myriad ways in which technological solutions can enhance their operations. However, VACAVA’s commitment to helping goes beyond its customers. The company participates in the local chapter of Make-A-Wish and works with Social Services in Rochester to provide work experience to handicapped individuals.

A music-lover, Terry can often be found playing his instrument of choice, the Soprano sax, in church.

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