Why pay full price for the right thing…

…when you can get an approximation for a lot less money!

I’ve been sitting on this particular line of thought for quite some time—long enough for the world to get to a place where having to “make do” is not only the order of the day, but a philosophy that is being endorsed by the various and sundry regulatory folks as work to hold the line on PPE and other operational necessities. It seems almost daily, the hard lines that existed in the compliance world have blurred to the point of vanishing. And while we know that things will eventually return to whatever normal awaits us, there are some indications of what that world might look like (again, looking purely at regulatory compliance as a function of surveys).

While there has been no formal public announcement yet (though I am anticipating something or other in the not too distant future), it seems that something we chatted about almost a year ago is going to manifest itself during surveys conducted by our friends in Chicago to the tune of an additional scheduled survey day, with the intent being the opportunity to really kick the environmental tires (so to speak) in your outpatient locations. As we discussed last year, I believe that there’s the potential for any number of vulnerabilities in the outpatient settings that may not manifest themselves so readily in the hospital setting, but if you look at what has been driving the numbers when it comes to the survey of the physical environment, it is clear that a lot of the same potentials exist—loaded sprinkler heads, issues with door hardware, gaps in inspection, testing and maintenance activities, depending on the environment, even air pressure relationships, and the management of temperature and humidity can be in the mix. The cynic in me is quite certain that there is no surprise in moving further afield with the survey process when it comes to generating findings—think of how much stuff they found in hospitals, where we exercise the most “control”! At any rate, I’m sure we’ll be getting the official word soon, but I’ve been thinking about what this is all gonna look like post-COVID and I think this is an important piece to be thinking about in terms of preparation.

In closing for this week. I wanted to share a piece on inspirational quotes. I personally don’t hate inspirational quotes as a going concern, but I hadn’t run into to a few of these before, so I figure it can’t hurt to share with the group.

Hope you all are safe and (reasonably) sane—you’ve got this!

About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a safety consultant with The Greeley Company in Danvers, Mass. He brings more than 30 years of healthcare management and consulting experience to his work with hospitals, physician offices, and ambulatory care facilities across the country. He is also a contributing editor for Healthcare Safety Leader. Contact Steve at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com.