The job is not done until the paperwork is complete! This saying is timeless and as accurate of an observation there can be. The weakest link in any service organization – be it HTM or some other always has linkage back to the strength of their paperwork completion tasks and processes. Ponder this a bit – you love servicing medical devices but you despise the paper work responsibilities associated with it. I do too!
The recording of the work associated with any serviceable HTM event and its review by peer or audit are so pertinent and key in defining not only strong processes but ultimately assure the highest level of safety to the patient population served. The review of documentation tends to be many times one of the most vulnerable misses in good service practices and can lead to potential patient care misadministrations, compliance deficiencies as well as financial hardships to the healthcare device owner’s organization.
During my career I have spent hours poring over in review the service, calibration, invoices and other forms of HTM related documentation. YES, maybe that fine print scrutiny has contributed to my need for reading glasses! This arduous task though of reviewing documentation has uncovered all too many time the “devil in the details” as it can be said. Trending of events, overbilling’s (and sometimes under billing’s), repair concerns and calibration flag’s requiring audit are just a sampling of the issues that become uncovered during these in depth reads. My personal experience results after scouring over endless piles of HTM device service related documentation of whatever it may be has probably uncovered hundreds of either flagged concerns or discrepancies and in addition erroneous billing issues totaling in excess of $1.0M+!!
I challenge you to ask yourself these questions. How do I review HTM documentation that comes across my bench? Am I thoroughly reading the details and nuggets of data within it? Am I to rushed in my daily grind or just merely not concentrating on this important job related task? If you say, “It’s not my yab” – that’s a copout!
Hard questions? Maybe – your responsibility as an HTM service professional – Absolutely!
