By Healthcare Facilities Today

Tighter control over vendor and visitor access is becoming the standard among hospitals, according to a survey of Health Facilities Management and Hospitals & Health Networks readers. An article on the Health Facilities Management magazine website said that in hospital leaders have recently taken a closer look at ways to control access to their facilities.

To better enforce supply chain protocols, reduce costs and improve patient safety, many organizations have adopted stricter policies for vendor access to surgeons in the OR and credentialing protocols for vendor sales representatives. Also, many health care facilities are examining ways to manage visitor access at all hoursto ensure patient and staff safety while still allowing families to visit patients freely, according to the article.

The online survey, completed by 824 respondents across the country, revealed that nearly 86 percent of respondents have a formal vendor credentialing program. Of the 14 percent of respondents without a formal program, 35 percent said they would very likely or somewhat likely be implementing one in the next 12 months. Only 30 organizations said they had no plans to implement such policies.

Compliance was the biggest driver in setting formal policies around vendor access, according to respondents. Sixty-three percent of those with a vendor credentialing policy cited compliance with Joint Commission and/or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as primary drivers. And nearly 56 percent said compliance with laws and regulations was a primary driver, the article said.

Read the article.