to policies and procedures relating
to secure messaging, clinical coding
and PCEHR Rule 25 (pertaining to
healthcare provider organisation
policies) mean practices must comply
in order to receive Practice Incentive
Program payments.
adopters of new technology. The
increased use of offsite, cloud-based
technology has created a need for
practice principals to be aware of the
relevant privacy legislation affecting
data storage, and the National
Privacy Principle No. 9, which relates
to trans-border data flow. Policies
and procedures defining a practice's
management and handling of data
and privacy are key to ensuring
staff understand the importance of
complying and minimising risk.
need for usage policies that clearly
define acceptable and unacceptable
activity, and the consequences of the
unacceptable activity. Practices taking
a proactive approach by being clear and
transparent about expectations are less
likely to have unacceptable activity.
activities, such as the maintenance of
a practice Facebook page, can be easily
incorporated into the manual.
assistants who are required to have an
understanding of the legal limitations
of their roles, the potential risks and
the liability of the practitioner.
Clear position descriptions and clinical
role clarity and minimising risk.
as practice managers, who hold
AAPM certification. Clear selection
and recruitment guidelines enable
the practice to consider the skills,
education and experience requirements
for the role to be filled, and to assess
applicants objectively.
practice-management services, such
as medical typing and bookkeeping.
Similar to the use of cloud technology
for data storage, practices will need
to ensure the supplier/outsourcing
organisation they choose complies with
Australian laws and requirements.
part of a practice, a procedures manual
must be accessible, relevant and current.
Accessibility is best achieved through
the use of secure methods that allow
all practice personnel access from their
main computer terminal. In this era of
search engines and widespread Internet
access, staff expect to be able to search
for and access information online.
function, allowing users to easily
communicate their feedback and
suggestions via direct links to the
relevant section. The communication
loop is completed with a function that
enables the manual administrator
usually the practice manager to
highlight new or changed policies and
procedures to practice personnel when
they access the manual.
for medico-legal risk management, as
well as providing excellent backup.
In addition, procedures have been
written in plain English so users can
quickly determine relevance.
running of a practice, incorporating
hyperlinks to appropriate organisations
allows a practice to easily access the
current information necessary to
support practice policymaking. Practice
personnel can easily access information
such as accreditation standards, which
assist in their understanding of the
background behind the practice's
policies and procedures.
practice environment and being able
to filter and distil the overload of
information into practical content that
keeps practice personnel informed.
procedures is an essential task for the
practice-managementteam.Optimising
the use of technology, including web-
based resources, as well as outsourcing
part of the task, are options for
practices to consider.
medical environment and business
operations that can support your
practice makes the challenge less
daunting, and will provide a manual that
will serve as an important tool in the
management of a successful business.