How Logiqc empowered Repromed for a seamless accreditation and audit process.

We recently had an engaging conversation with Repromed, a leading fertility clinic in New Zealand. Repromed is committed to delivering exceptionally personalised care and assisting clients in realising their dream of starting a family, with a dedicated specialist team at their service.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Dr Debbie Blake, the Scientific Director of Repromed, to delve into how the Logiqc quality management system is empowering the organisation to operate at the highest level of global and national quality standards. Join us as we explore the pivotal role played by the Logiqc platform in their remarkable journey.

Can you tell us more about your recent experience of using the LogiqcQMS to prepare and participate in a recent accreditation audit and about which standards you were audited against? 

We used the Logiqc platform for the audits against the 8134 Nga paerewa Health and Disability Services Standard and the RTAC Code of Practice for Reproductive Technology.

At first, we also utilised the platform to comply with ISO 9000 standards. However, a few years ago, we made the strategic choice to cease its use in that capacity. We discovered that, considering the wide range of standards and from a business standpoint, it no longer provided us with substantial benefits.

Was this the first time you used the platform for these standards?

Before using LogiqcQMS, we had been audited for the two standards for many years. However, during the COVID lockdown, we underwent an audit that was primarily conducted as a remote audit using the LogiqcQMS. The auditors couldn't physically visit us, so they heavily relied on the information we had in LogiqcQMS, and it proved to be a seamless and effective process.

And what was the experience like for your most recent audit?

In contrast to our pre-LogiqcQMS era, undergoing an audit and having auditors visit was an incredibly stressful period for our entire staff. Additionally, leading up to audits used to be a time of intense and frantic preparation. However, in our most recent audit, we found ourselves in a different situation. Just two weeks before the audit, my team and I looked at each other and wondered if we had possibly missed something. We were incredibly well-prepared and entered the audit process with a high level of confidence.

Our document control processes were quite rudimentary before LogiqcQMS – everything was managed through spreadsheets, which proved to be really hard work. Frequently, auditors would request certain documents or protocols, and it was not uncommon for these documents to be outdated or difficult to find.

When it came to discussing incidents and feedback, the entire process relied heavily on paper-based records, which were vulnerable to incomplete documentation. Maintaining an accurate and organised paper-based system was a challenge, everything felt incomplete or unfinished, leading to a feeling of enormous uncertainty and ambiguity.

Additionally, you never knew what the auditors were going to ask, so there was plenty of opportunity to be found ‘non-compliant’, even though our actions were compliant. For instance, they could point out inconsistencies between practices and protocols, primarily because our fast-paced business made it nearly impossible to keep all our manuals up to date with our evolving procedures.

One amazing feature of LogiqcQMS is that it can generate an evidence report for every single accreditation criteria for the standard. Throughout the year, we can review each criteria, ensuring that we are compliant or are working towards compliance.

In all honesty, I'm not sure how any business could maintain compliance without a tool like LogiqcQMS. It has transformed our approach to the management of audits and compliance, making the process far more efficient and reliable.

And can you tell us how this has impacted the team?

Our experience with LogiqcQMS has been transformative for our team. It has allowed us to establish a dedicated quality team, a significant expansion from our previous setup where one person managed these responsibilities part-time.

Quality and compliance are like a constantly hungry ‘monster’ that requires ongoing attention and generates a stream of new tasks, which, while essential, can be quite overwhelming. This is especially true in positions like mine and Eleonor's (Eleanor Williams, Repromed Quality Manager), where we're at the top of the organisational pyramid, serving as the central points for receiving feedback from various departments. The workload can shift rapidly from almost cleared to suddenly facing 25 new tasks the following week. To avoid being overwhelmed, we need robust systems like LogiqcQMS to help us manage this dynamic workload effectively.

LogiqcQMS has had a positive impact on our business culture as well. We have a no-blame culture, and LogiqcQMS has significantly contributed to this culture. Everyone is on an equal playing field, and when something goes wrong, we don't immediately place blame on staff. Instead, we focus on understanding how it happened and how we can prevent it from happening again. This approach is well-known to everyone in our organisation, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and learning from incidents.

We celebrate the fact that people are logging incidents into LogiqcQMS. It's a positive sign because it provides us with more opportunities to make improvements. This enables us to identify the phases when non-compliance occurs and gives us a chance to delve deeper. We can examine what's happening in a specific department that might need addressing. It could be related to staff turnover, high workload, or inadequate workspace that hinders people from performing their tasks effectively. LogiqcQMS helps us proactively address these types of issues.

What's particularly impressive about LogiqcQMS is how seamlessly it adapts to our specific industry needs. We've found ourselves adding new modules to it every year or every couple of years because the benefits are so evident. I'm a strong advocate for this platform, it is sophisticated and intelligent.

How about learning to use the platform? Has it proven to be hard?

Learning to use LogiqcQMS has been a pleasant surprise for us. The platform's training modules and Knowledge Base are impressive and easily accessible, which has made the learning process smooth and efficient. And our communication with the Logiqc team has greatly contributed. They quickly respond to our emails and queries, which gives the team a high level of confidence to use the system.

The training process for our staff didn't take long. While initially, our quality team was responsible for logging all incidents, feedback, and improvements on behalf of the rest of the team, we've seen a positive shift. More and more staff from other departments have gained the confidence to log their own incidents. This has empowered them, making them feel that they have a voice and that their concerns are being heard. It's given them a sense of power and control over their contributions to our quality and improvement processes.

As you become more familiar with LogiqcQMS, you quickly become such a believer in it. We work with various professional groups, including nurses, doctors, administrative staff, and counsellors, and it’s been fascinating to see how the platform has influenced our practices. Whenever someone suggests trying out a new approach or making a change, I immediately think, “Let’s get it into the system”. This is because LogiqcQMS can maintain a complete record of changes and modifications. You can easily search for them using keywords, allowing you to revisit decisions made years ago and to see the due diligence and the verifications you did back then. This level of accountability is fantastic and ensures that nothing falls through the gaps.

Did the platform enhance your engagement with the auditors during the process?

Absolutely. In the past, we used to approach audits with a certain level of apprehension, which could be sensed by the auditors. However, with LogiqcQMS, our confidence has soared, and we now collaborate with auditors in a highly positive and constructive manner.

What's also beneficial is that auditors can access LogiqcQMS at their own convenience, making their job as auditors easier as well. They can review all our incidents, feedback, and adverse events, and it's all presented in a transparent way. The documentation clearly shows how we've addressed incidents and where they have in turn prompted improvements. This aspect contributes to job satisfaction as we can clearly observe the progress that has stemmed from adverse events.

I've recommended LogiqcQMS to many businesses because I genuinely believe that no other system enables a business to excel in quality management as effectively as this platform does. It is highly responsive to our industry's unique needs, making it an invaluable tool.