Lab reduces inspections from two full days to 6-8 hours at most

This multi-site military lab system serves clinics spread across the East Coast. They were struggling with document management and standardization across multiple sites, which led them to seek out MediaLab by Vastian.‍

The challenge‍

All of the military sites used paper documentation; there were no previous software systems in place. Because of the distance between the clinics, it was very difficult and time-consuming to fly the medical director to sites for quarterly visits. It was only at that time that the team reviewed and signed off on all the documentation, spent hours upon hours going through all documentation, and made sure they were compliant with their CAP accreditation requirements.

Whenever they had an inspection, it was especially challenging as they were attending to patients simultaneously. The inspectors understood that, but they still required that certain lab staff were available at their whim to provide information or clarification on evidence.‍

The solution‍

This lab system needed a better way to organize all of their documents. With Document Control, they had one, centralized platform to store their thousands of documents – from policies to procedures to forms, worksheets, job aids, and more. They could easily see who reviewed policies, were able to create easy revisions, and worked toward standardizing policies and procedures across all labs. The medical director could also do their sign-offs and approvals remotely, focusing their on-site time to quality and safety priorities. They were so pleased with Document Control, they decided to add InspectionProof as well, ensuring they always met the standards expected of them and had the platform to show it.‍

The results‍

Document Control saved the lab system a considerable amount of time. Medical director site visits used to take a couple of days but now take half a day. Once the medical director signs off on an SOP, it is pushed out for a mandatory review by all staff. They no longer need binders full of out-of-date documents. Their biggest win has been standardizing all documentation across the four clinics.

When a CAP inspector arrived, having InspectionProof cut down time tremendously; inspections went from two full days to 6-8 hours at most. The laboratory granted the inspectors view-only access prior to the visit, allowing the inspectors to review evidence ahead of time and focus their on-site time on confirming information and asking questions.