The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives during the past two years. While it has created a number of new challenges, it has been especially challenging for businesses looking to reopen and consistently maintain safe workplaces, as well as comply with varying guidelines.
Though managers and employees may feel a sense of urgency to get their business back to “normal” as soon as possible, getting there has not been as easy as it seems. With new guidelines and revised practices that are steadily changing, what is the best way to urge compliance while also simultaneously moving beyond compliance to help employers best care for the wellness of their employees?
It is important to find solutions that can help you meet these goals and more – like ways to help automate compliance, reduce liability, and strategies to take the pain out of reporting when it is required. Here are a few questions to keep in mind when searching for the right COVID-19 management solutions for your business:
- What ways can we help employees comply with policies and return to work after contracting COVID-19?
- How can we make it easy for HR to manage compliance and wellness outreach?
- What are the best ways to help take the pain out of reporting these cases and data when it is required?
- There are mobile enabled applications available that help manage compliance and employee wellness the easy way, while keeping personal health information totally segregated from your business or organization’s HR system.
If you do not have the solutions to help with this, it is important to consider looking for solutions and application tools that offer help with:
- Supporting compliance
- Automating processes
- Streamlining employee communication
- Simplifying reporting for regulatory requirements
- Clarifying and communicating the steps to return to work
Finding a solution that is simple to use and quickly implement is also key. It is important to find a system that is easy and allows for multiple user roles to ensure the right people have controlled access to the PHI in a HIPAA-compliant environment.
There are tools available where it only takes a few minutes to set up your company profile, configure a handful of settings, import a list of your team members, and designate a start date to the COVID compliance sequences. These tools are simple enough that they can be used for small organizations, yet they are scalable to also accommodate enterprise-sized companies.
Some key functions of these tools are:
- Vaccination Compliance Tracking
- Contact Tracing
- Symptom Tracking and Reporting
- Testing Compliance and Tracking (where required)
Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities are expected to comply with all regulatory requirements, and CMS has a variety of established enforcement remedies. For nursing homes, home health agencies, and hospice (beginning in 2022), this includes civil monetary penalties, denial of payment, and even termination from the Medicare and Medicaid program as a final measure.
Though compliance is necessary, it does not have to be complicated.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a complex situation that requires frequent and consistent communication between both employers and their employees. This is why appropriate solutions should be flexible enough to accommodate changing rules and guidelines while still staying in compliance.
Here is how HORNE’s COVID Management Solutions is different than other existing COVID applications and tools:
- Provides a mobile-friendly interface for employees on the go
- Keeps Personal Health Information segregated from the HR system
- Provides HR with streamlined management tools for compliance
- Automatically communicates guidelines and return to work criteria to employees
- It can be quickly implemented in under two weeks
Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace, and many employees want to do their part to stay in compliance. With HORNE’s suite of COVID solutions, we can help bridge the gap and make compliance manageable – and easy – for everyone.
Want to know more? Our team would love to talk with you about how we can help you improve outcomes and best care for the wellness of your employees.
