Implementing ISO 9001:2018 for Health Travel Facilitator Firms

Implementing ISO 9001:2018 For Health Travel Facilitator Firms

By Maria Todd

Table Of Contents Who should be involved?

01

Setting Expectations - Pitfalls in Implementation

01

How to speed up the process

02

Preparing for Implementation

02

Steps in the ISO 9001 implementation

02

Toughest Challenges

03

Implementing ISO 9001: 2018

Who Should Be Involved?

The ISO 9001: 2018 is the best match for a quality management system designed for a medical travel facilitation firm.

The involved persons would include, inter alia:  Facilitator/Owner

If you are sole proprietor with minimal startup capital and no additional help, you probably shouldn't set your sights on a quality management certification pursuit.

 Any nursing, case management or

travel advisors  Any contracting team members  Any clinical advisor who oversees quality and operations  Any hired consultants, external auditors or internal quality managers, and  Anyone else in the company who will be actively involved in quality management

Wait until your business survives the first 36 months to see what happens in terms of business growth, volumes and sustainability. So many medical tourism facilitator companies last 18-36 momths and then quit the business when they realize the volumes aren't what they read and researched on the internet and propaganda press releases.

 Lack of commitment  Proceeding without a detailed plan  Not meeting deadlines  Not establishing document templates

early on  Misinterpretation of the standard  Ineffective management review  Underestimating the time to complete  Underestimating soft /developmental costs (The survey itself runs about $4500)

What are the Pitfalls in the implementation of ISO 9001:2018?

Page # 1

Implementing ISO 9001: 2018

How to speed up the process  Hire external help  Avoid laying responsibility with only one person  Apply online solutions to manage tasks and documentations for the team

Preparing for Implementation

 Start with a baseline Gap Analysis  Develop the project plan  Assign roles and responsibilities  Assign resources (budget, time,

training)

Steps in ISO 9001 implementation  You cannot devise a quality management system (QMS) if you don't really know how

to be a facilitator in the first place. Use the first 3 years of business as the "proving grounds" and on-the-job training and learn as much as you can about the business and the risks associated with health travel facilitation  Declare Your Intention to Achieve Certification as an element of your brand differentiation  Set up an intranet for the team members so everyone can remain informed about what is happening step-by-step  Keep learning to short sprints on a need-to-be -involved basis  Define the context of what you will certify and document - focus on a department or organization as a whole  Define the scope of the Quality Management System - - limit risk assessments only to what will be part of the QMS.  Define processes and procedures  Implement processes and procedures  Train staff and raise awareness and pride in the program  Select a certification body  Operate the QMS  Conduct internal audits  Conduct management review  Measure effectiveness, continually improve with corrective actions  Schedule certification survey

Page # 2

Implementing ISO 9001: 2018

The toughest challenges you'll face  Finding the time to get it done.  Getting helpers or employees to care about and commit to participate in QMS  Decrease bureaucratic burden  How to transition and implement this in a small company setting  Meeting deadlines

As a consultant to many new health travel facilitator startups I often recommend they wait a few years to get some experience and learn to appreciate the business risks, clinical risks, operational risks, and contracting risks they'll face. Then, they can begin to organize their thinking around what they want their quality management system to include and focus upon.

If you've been in business as a facilitator for 5-7 years, the general public and your ISO certified clinics and hospitals will appreciate the extra effort to document your QMS even if all you do is follow the guidelines to set up an ISO 9001 QMS but never actually go through the survey and certification process and expense.

Dedication to quality, safety and risk mitigation is not a "coveted plaque on the wall" sort of thing. It is a commitment to your clients, suppliers and the profession itself. Do it for the right reasons.

For larger, investor owned entities Medical tourism facilitation firms are seeing a rise in investor led interest from private equity and venture cap firms. This might be just the scenario in which an ISO 9001:2018 endeavor should be attempted sooner rather than wait 3 years or more.

The likelihood that investors will want the risk mitigation to be a part of the startup plans and hiring adequate staff with the competency to undertake an early attempt to achieve ISO 9001:2018 certification is much higher when the facilitator firm starts its life with adequate capitalization and owner/investor buy in to protect both their investment and teh brand's reputation in the marketplace.

Page # 3

THANK YOU AskMariaTodd +1 (800) 727.4160 info@mercuryadvisorygroup.com