8 Ways Technology Creates Agile Provider Compliance Work Plans

Healthcare compliance professionals are constantly challenged to stretch limited resources when executing a work plan.

Those looking for a path to better efficiency and effectiveness will find the answer lies in using technology as a tool across every work plan stage.

When building a provider work plan, you need smart, well-designed software to simplify your job and improve organizational effectiveness.

This is especially true considering how regulatory changes, compliance concerns, assessment needs, configuration and testing, deployment, and optimization continually impact work plans and compete for resources. 

Compliance Work Plans Demand Agility 

Agility-first technology can be freeing for healthcare providers still using spreadsheets and manual processes. Technology can help simplify and automate many processes critical to a compliance program. Technology creates efficiency and eliminates blind spots where tasks can be overlooked. Or where you miss tasks on your checklist. 

What does technology as a tool look like? With software designed for healthcare compliance professionals, critical documents are securely stored. There are both audit trails and controls over who may edit them. 

A robust database gathers insight from analysis, tasks, and assessments. Here, attestations can be assigned and followed up on automatically. When data flows freely, you can better understand what your real-time work plan progress looks like. Putting controls in place allows you to analyze and test results to transition data into actionable insights. Improved visibility leads to improved organizational outcomes and better evidence of compliance for Board members and regulators. These are, of course, merely a few advantages. 

To ensure your compliance work plan remains agile, technology can establish clear and effective communications, help organizations adapt to rapidly evolving demands, and continuously monitor progress and adjust work plans as needed. Technology can also help define business objectives and advance project management capabilities. 

How to Future-Proof Your Compliance Work Plan 

Below are eight ways providers can use technology solutions to improve business outcomes and organizational effectiveness: 

1. Policy management software: Overall, policy management software can help providers make the process of creating, updating, and using policies and procedures more efficient, compliant, and effective. This software can manage policies and procedures and ensure they are up-to-date and in compliance with regulations. Additionally, real-time reports and dashboards can provide clear visibility into process issues, including approval cycles, extended reviews, and when policies expire.
2. BAA management technology: Technology can manage Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) and ensure third-party partners are in compliance with regulations. It can offer improved visibility via flowcharts and processes that help teams determine when to use BAA. Additionally, providers can use BAA management technology to ensure adherence to regulatory compliance guidelines.
3. Bundles: Use technology to manage bundled payment systems and ensure all billing and payment processes are in compliance with regulations. Doing so is increasingly important—especially since bundled payments make providers more financially responsible, versus fee-for-service for patient costs.
4. Compliance testing: Use technology to automate the testing of controls to ensure they are effective and in compliance with regulations. It is critical to streamline compliance across teams and ensure information is organized and easily accessible.
5. Auditing: Use technology to automate the auditing process and ensure all necessary information is being collected and analyzed in compliance with regulations. Internal audit management helps expedite audit cycles and improve results by managing end-to-end audits and streamlining workflow capabilities. Technology can centralize work-paper management, analysis, research, and reach-outs so everything functions more cohesively and in a more controlled, trackable manner.
6. Risk management: Use technology to automate the risk management process. This work includes the identification and assessment of risks, mapping to mitigate those risks, and providing built-in dashboards, reporting, metrics, performance, and scheduling.
7. Compliance assessments: Use technology to automate compliance assessments and identify areas where improvements are needed to ensure ongoing compliance. For instance, technology can help track and manage other regulatory information, such as HIPAA or HITECH, to ensure compliance.
8. Revenue cycle management (RCM): This helps you better understand regulations tied to claims management, front-end payment processes, billing cycles, reimbursement needs, and so on. For example, technology can automate the processes surrounding claims audits. This is critical to allow your organization to effectively preserve revenue.

Final Thoughts 

Technology is the key for providers looking to optimize, streamline, and improve their compliance work plans. This way, behind-the-scenes work leads to improved decision-making and efficiency organization-wide.  

Technology ultimately fosters a workplace culture focused on understanding compliance risks, identifying which gaps demand addressing, and promoting rapid risk response to avoid compliance-related headaches down the road. It’s truly a win-win. 

For more information on how SAI360’s modular SaaS solutions can drive efficiency, efficacy, and agility in your workplace, visit https://www.sai360.com/industries/healthcare-health-insurance.