|
Documentation is a set of records that entities maintain to provide evidence or information that can be used to inform decisions. Documentation can seem like a big task…is it really worth the effort?? The answer is YES!! Consistent documentation is helpful to everyone within the organization as it allows an entity to accumulate evidence-based information for future reference.
Proper documentation protects USA and USA Health students, employees, patients and YOU!
By sharing knowledge through documentation, educated decisions can be made as a collective which helps improve the entire organization. By properly documenting processes, approvals, progress and resources, adequate support is available for future reference.
Processes:
Documenting your processes, including detailed instructions, ensures consistency and standardization and makes daily tasks more efficient, saving time in the long run. Employees will spend less time searching for information if they know where they can find it.
Documentation prevents the duplication of work. Thorough documentation on previous projects can provide a great starting point to expand on at a later date. Successful processes that are documented well can be replicated and employees can refer to prior records without having to start from scratch.
Approvals:
Documenting approvals shows that the request, form, entry, correction, update, change, etc.… was reviewed and approved at the proper level of authority and responsibility.
Human Resources:
Documentation provides credibility and shows that employees are treated fairly and consistently. Documentation improves the onboarding process. Through documentation, new employees have guides for assigned tasks, which makes them more confident when completing an assignment for the first time. Additionally, coworkers and managers can spend less time explaining how things are done.
Healthcare:
Documentation ensures a higher level of safety, quality of care, and helps avoid liability. By recording treatment plans and their reasoning for such, practitioners can track their patient’s progress and keep the entire team up to date, while also protecting the organization against legal proceedings.
Research:
Organizing notes and documenting processes enhances the validity of the work, providing research traceability. This includes giving credit or attribution to the original creator or author, making your sources accessible, enabling follow up and verification of completeness and accuracy and communicating transparency, integrity and trust, while sharing information with others in the field.
Technology:
Proper technical documentation ensures tasks are completed in a quality way and serves as a reference for future software and hardware updates or maintenance. It includes aspects such as coding standards and source code, testing standards and results, software architecture and solution instructions for users.
If thorough documentation is not maintained, consequences can include; compromised safety, potential legal action, audit findings, improper billing, lost revenue and inefficiencies for employees, therefore, it is important to understand the critical role of documentation in the workplace.
| 
