How OnBoard Helps Federally Qualified Health Centers Stay HRSA-Compliant

One of the reasons many organizations choose OnBoard to manage and organize their board meetings is the platform’s strong record on compliance.  Health care compliance – the process of adhering to rules, standards, policies, laws, and regulations that relate to medical practices – is not only about keeping operations running smoothly. It promotes safe, high-quality care, and in this high-risk industry where decision-making is measured in minutes or seconds, proper compliance is essential.

Community health centers must adhere to the regulations set forth by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Let’s examine how one community health center (who has chosen to remain anonymous) uses OnBoard to stay HRSA-compliant.

An additional HRSA case study is available here from Valley Professionals Community Health Center.

 “A Very Diverse Board” Must Meet Broad Regulatory Requirements

This Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) is comprised of nearly a dozen community health centers and nearly 20 school-based health centers. Its board is made up of 15 members, more than half of which have experienced care as a patient. But raw numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. When discussing the board, words like “community” and “care” are used frequently, and heartwarming patient stories are shared freely.

“We have a very diverse board,” says the project coordinator for the FQHC’s board. “We have people who are in the banking industry and the health care industry. We have a construction guy who is a single parent and his kids have been seen here for the last 20 years. He really loves this community, and once he retired, he started sitting on our board.”

Staying Compliant Using OnBoard

To stay HRSA-compliant, a health care organization must do more than merely follow a set of guidelines and rules. It requires the organization to maintain accurate records, safeguard personal data, and provide instant access to documentation – all of which are key capabilities of OnBoard.

“As a mission-driven organization, we strive every day to make a meaningful difference in our community,” the project coordinator says. “Demonstrating HRSA compliance is an essential part of maintaining oversight for the operations of each of the clinics.”

HRSA’s Health Center Program Compliance Manual outlines the requirements health centers must meet to demonstrate compliance. The following bullet points highlight select requirements from the Compliance Manual and the OnBoard features and capabilities the the FQHC’s board and staff uses to meet them.

• The FQHC CEO  gives a high-level administrative update on needs assessment at the board meeting (as specified in requirements 3A and 3B). Including documentation and charts, this report is so large that it cannot be sent via email or a single flash drive. Staff members upload it to one of OnBoard’s unlimited Resource Folders, and board members can view it in its entirety.

• When a health center needs to change in scope for services or site changes, a staff member reaches out to the board for a review, approval, and vote (as specified in requirement 4A). In the past, board members would receive details via email, then review and vote on them in-person at the next board meeting. The board now uses OnBoard’s Voting and Approvals functionality to conduct the vote in real-time from anywhere and on any device.

• Relevant documentation – including articles of incorporation, bylaws, and minutes – must be easily accessible to ensure the board maintains the authority for oversight of the health center (as specified in requirements 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D, and 19E).
• The board also uses OnBoard to keep  documents essential to maintaining business continuity, including org charts and staff job descriptions, instantly accessible (as specified in requirement 11A).

• With most boards now meeting virtually, they must now meet and execute their governance responsibilities remotely. That includes recruitment (as specified in requirements 20A, 20B, and 20C). The board currently conducts virtual interviews for new members, and thanks to the platform’s native Zoom and Microsoft Teams integrated video conferencing capabilities, interviews are set up and conducted entirely within OnBoard. Resumes and other relevant documents are stored in OnBoard as well, with granular permissions limiting access solely to the board’s Governance Committee.
  
  

OnBoard Helps Improve the Quality of Care

Like the more well-known HIPAA standards, HRSA presents health centers like this FQHC with an extensive set of compliance requirements that can appear daunting at first. That’s why OnBoard was built from day one with compliance top-of-mind. After all, in a highly regulated industry like health care, functionality such as easy-to-use document access, real-time voting, and robust adherence to security standards are not optional. OnBoard is board management software that enables health care organizations to operate effectively, stay compliant, and improve the quality of care.