As the developers of Everest customer complaint software solution, we are pleased to announce on-site services to optimize employee engagement. New content includes a Personal Energy Optimization workshop to help staff achieve better work life balance, focused energy, stress prevention and improved performance.

Communication strategies geared toward cultivating a positive work environment are also emphasised. According to research by The Best Place To Work Institute, “trust between managers and employees is the primary defining characteristic of the very best workplaces.”

Creating a trusting and energized work environment translates directly to the customer. Happy employees make happy customers, and we feel that’s a goal worth pursuing.

Hospitals and medical groups that utilize Everest to track and resolve complaints within patient relations have begun to collaborate with risk management in an effort to reduce potential litigation. How? They are quickly communicating with patients after receiving notification of a complaint. “Prior to implementing Everest,” shares one patient relations manager, “we had stacks of complaints waiting to be processed and not enough staff to enter them”. By automating patient feedback, patient relations is able to receive immediate notification directly from front-line employees through an Everest portal located at each nursing station.

Sorry Works!
In 2005, The Sorry Works! Coalition was founded in an effort to encourage hospitals to communicate with patients and their families about mistakes that are made as soon as the error is discovered. The cause of the error is investigated and procedure changes are intitiated. In some cases, the patient is offered a settlement. The core of this approach lies in the power of an apology. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon – or perhaps it does – to know that apologizing for a mistake you’ve made is the right thing to do.

The University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago experienced this first hand upon implementing a formal apology program in 2006. Since then, the number of claims has declined by 40%. This isn’t just risk management, it’s human decency.

The Everest Healthcare Solution enables a consistent, paperless process for patient complaints and patient grievances. With Everest, the essential relationships between patients and providers are scalable across a large healthcare institution which often includes multiple locations and a network of affiliated group practices.

Once the stacks of patient complaints on paper have been replaced by a paperless, automated complaint resolution system, representatives from patient relations are free to actually visit patients to discuss their concerns, along with more often than not, offering a sincere apology.

Unique Device Identification, also known as UDI, is coming in 2010. All manufacturers of medical devices will be required to comply with the new UDI methodology. The Everest software solution for customer complaints and corrective action tracking includes several features to help medical device manufacturers track a UDI as it relates to all types of medical device problems or defects including: 

• customer complaints
• return authorizations
• product defects
• adverse event – MDR

The FDA UDI Rule will establish a single device identification system that is consistent, unambiguous, standardized, and globally harmonized.

At the device level, marking procedures may include bar code, radio frequency identification (RFID) and direct part marking (DPM). At the organization level, the new UDI methodology offers opportunities for improvement in traceability, recalls, electronic records, materials management, defect analysis and problem resolution.

For FDA regulated medical device manufacturers, the Everest software solution is highly configurable for customer complaints, non-conforming product and corrective action tracking. Here are a few key Everest software features related to UDI…

Product Fields
“Based on a specific UDI, what are the product details related to the customer or patient concern?”

Shipped and Defective Quantities along with Serial Number, Lot Number and user defined fields for any other product details, including the UDI.

Product List
“Based on a specific UDI, how many other problems have been reported for the same type of device or related products?”

Everest includes a master product list based on; Product Id, Description, Product Group and Manufacturing Location. The product list can be imported from a spreadsheet template or updated systematically from a source database with the software’s automatic import program (sold separately).

Defect Codes
“Based on a specific UDI, what types of defects or reasons were attributed to the problem?”For each UDI entered, track results from root cause analysis with up to three levels of defect codes based on configurable terminology to define each; Source, Type, Reason. Everest defect codes enable point-and-click selection of multiple reason codes as needed to identify manufacturing, supplier quality, material non-conformances or other sources.

 Reports & Charts
“What type and volume of concerns are associated with the device and how does that compare with related products, different products and the reason codes?”

Standard reports and charts by Product Id or Product Group, plus a chart drill down feature to explore highest frequencies with drill down details for defect source, type and reason codes.

UDI provides an opportunity to improve patient care, increase efficiency and reduce costs. For manufacturers, a configurable database for tracking the UDI will provide the visibility that is essential to maintain high quality standards and superior customer service. The UDI enables early detection of defective devices to ultimately enhance patient safety and reduce medical errors.

For more information about UDI…

Global GS1 Contact and Website
Ulrike Kreysa, Director Healthcare, GS1 Global Office
ulrike.kreysa@gs1.org
GS1 Healthcare website:
http://www.gs1.org/healthcare

FDA
The FDA is taking the lead in the United States for UDI and will shortly begin developing draft regulations to implement requirements. For additional information about the regulations, visit the FDA website
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/ocd/udi

UDI Conference – October 20-21, 2009 – Orlando, FL
Hilton Bonnet Creek, Orlando, FL
http://www.udiconference.com

We, at Lynk Software, value our independence. Virtual offices are a must for this spirited group. But in order to offer the quality customer service that defines us as an organization, we all have to be on the same page: organized, cohesive and on top of our game.

How do we accomplish this while spending much of our time in virtual offices? You guessed it – Everest.

Everest is used as a communication tool to ensure that we all know what’s happening with our customers and within the organization. Here are some specific ways the Lynk Software team puts Everest to work:

Tracking Customer Concerns
Designed for this purpose, Everest is perfect for tracking customer concerns and problems. Each concern is entered in Everest and then assigned to a staff member for resolution. An email is generated within Everest to notify the designated staff of his or her responsibility.

Once resolved, the outcome is entered in Everest and catalogued for future reference. This way trends are easily spotted and we have proven solutions at our finger tips. Quality is an ongoing commitment at Lynk, and this system has proven to be a highly effective way to manage product refinement.

Track Product Enhancement Requests
Whenever one of our beloved customers requests a specific product enhancement, it is logged in Everest. Every spring we come together as a team and review these requests. We then decide which of these requests will be implemented and which will be deferred.

Sales Activities
Every prospect is entered in Everest. Every interaction is entered in the system and relevant quotes and documents are easily attached within Everest.

Our commitment is to provide the highest service and quality to our customers. Everest allows us to deliver our best to you while maintaining a work environment that works for us.

Please drop us a line and let us know how you use Everest!