Policy and procedure manuals are like trophies: people collect them, and then after a while, they simply take up space. If a person walked into your office or saw you in a Zoom meeting, how many policy manuals would they see behind you? It’s common to have 10, 20, or 30 manuals, all addressing different topics or departments.
Having a lot of policy manuals may make a leader feel important or valuable, but they are no longer necessary. But here are a few questions to ask yourself about your manuals:
1. Is it valuable if the information is outdated by months or years and gathering dust?
2. If no one is going to look at the manual, whether they be the leader, an employee, or a regulatory agency, why is it there?
3. If someone is going to look at it, is it concise and organized?
4. Can it be streamlined, uploaded to a server, or consolidated with other manuals?
5. If someone important (regulatory or accreditation-based) looked at it today, would you receive deficiencies due to inaccuracy or missed requirements?
If your organization is part of a large corporation that requires you to have certain manuals for Safety, Human Resources, Infection Control, etc., then it might be out of your control. But it couldn’t hurt you to suggest that the powers that be that killing all the trees for paper is not necessary and they can be stored on a server. The only time many organizations need the manual is when a surveyor is there, and then it can be printed out for them. Otherwise, the manual can be stored in a cloud or the server.
Suppose your office has a manual for Medi-Cal or Medicaid; a manual for an accreditation agency such as Joint Commission, CARF, or COA; and a manual for the staff. Shouldn’t they somehow be put together? There are common threads between the different requirements. Rather than having two policies for treatment plans, couldn’t your organization take the verbiage that both CARF and the County or payor need and combine them into one?
Most organizations look at this work and decide to put it off. Until they need it and it’s way too late. But if you do a little at a time, just work on one section a week, it can make a difference. It’s like when your child or teen’s room is very messy and tell them to clean their room. They look at you and wave their hand (or worse) and don’t do anything. But if you work with them doing one part of the room today, another part the next day, it doesn’t end up a huge chore.
What’s in your manual? Is it information you and your staff need? The adage is: if you haven’t read it in a year, and no external agency needs it, toss it. It’s not necessary and no one will miss it. When you’re ready to educate your staff about the manual’s contents, they will be happier to use it if it’s informative, helps them do their job, and avoid making mistakes.
Praxes provides consulting on policy and procedures as part of its consulting services. For more information, please contact us.
Got questions? We've got answers.
PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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