Are compliance concerns keeping you up at night? Senior living communities must maintain rigorous care standards, as they are governed by a complex series of laws and regulations at the federal, state, and local level. Maintaining these compliance standards can be a challenge due the evolving nature of requirements, resource constraints, and employee turnover. However, compliance is vital to your organization’s success, as it impacts your level of legal risk and the well-being and safety of residents. 

Here are three ways you can improve healthcare compliance at your senior living community and manage your risk. 

Streamline Record Keeping

Proper documentation and record keeping is key to meeting compliance objectives. If it’s not written down, there is no evidence that a task or procedure occurred. Work with teams across departments to ensure that all standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been created. This should include SOPs for every aspect of resident care, as well as emergency procedures.

For instance, there are occasions when a senior living community must both inform a resident and consult with the resident’s physician and family or resident representative. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, these healthcare compliance situations include: 

• An accident involving the resident which results in injury and has the potential to require physician intervention
• A significant change in the resident’s physical, mental or psychosocial status resulting in either life-threatening conditions or clinical complications
• A need to adjust medications or treatment regimen
• A decision to transfer or discharge the resident from the facility
• A change in room or roommate assignment
• A change in a resident’s rights under federal or state law or regulations

Ensure that a clear, easy to follow SOP exists for employees to follow that includes when, who and how to notify these individuals, as well as where each notification should be documented. Additional SOPs may be needed for situations such as medication administration, cleaning protocols and infection control. 

Documentation should be meticulous, recording any changes to a resident’s condition or demeanor, as well as care recommendations made by on-site providers.

The easier it is for employees to document communications, the more likely the procedure will be followed. Electronic record systems can also help streamline record-keeping processes. For instance, LCS communities gain access to Intellilogix, a platform to help health centers identify errors in documentation before submitting it to state officials. 

Increase Focus on Documented Communication

In addition to the training employees receive during onboarding, it’s important to reinforce healthcare compliance by regularly distributing bulletins, newsletters or emails that keep employees informed of policy changes. Offer helpful reminders about existing procedures and regularly bring employees together to review them.

Roleplaying can also be helpful. Ask employees to work through a scenario in real time — such as an instance where a resident falls and the employee is then immediately asked to help another team member with a medication issue. 

Ask employees:

• What step should be taken first?
• Who should be informed?
• What should be documented?
• Where should it be documented?

Employees must understand why following these instructions are so important, and be reminded of the consequences of non-compliance. Your residents, too, should have a clear understanding of your community’s safety measures and health protocols. The more open and transparent you are with residents and their families, the better, as it builds a foundation of trust and openness. Ultimately, it is nurturing these relationships that will help drive your future success.  

Conduct Regular Audits  

Documenting a process is only the first step in healthcare compliance. If processes are not enforced, they are less likely to be followed. Improve compliance with your procedures by:

• Conducting regular audits and inspections which are focused on health and safety standards, medication management and resident care
• Reviewing client files and assessing communication and procedural compliance with regulatory requirements and community policies
• Offering positive feedback and recognition for those who maintain exceptional compliance standards
• Having an ongoing compliance committee to track trends and understand outliers can help strengthen the overall compliance program.

Compliance works best when it’s a group effort. Put feedback mechanisms into place where both employees and residents can offer suggestions and report any concerns about potential compliance issues. 

Remember that if employees and residents don’t feel they have a way to resolve issues internally, they will seek out third parties to resolve these issues instead. Whenever possible, you want to be alerted of a potential issue and address it well before it becomes a problem. 

How to Improve Compliance with LCS

Staying up to date with shifting regulatory requirements is easier for communities who partner with Life Care Services, an LCS company. Our partners gain access to a team of knowledgeable compliance experts that help them navigate the regulatory landscape, ensuring forms and filing are completed promptly and accurately. Contact us at 515-642-1744, or complete the contact form below to learn more.