Background

Support procedures are defined as all procedures that support the health care delivery process.

They include :

Procedures for managing and ensuring access to resources

These procedures are used to manage :

• Time-based resources: personnel, equipment, space, etc.;
• Consumables: medications, etc.;
• Services: transport, etc.;
• Information resources: organizational entities, identification, patient records, knowledge, security, etc.

Scheduling procedures

Certain resources (human resources, buildings, equipment, etc.) must be managed so as to ensure that they are made available on a more formal basis for a given patient and during a given period of time. Scheduling procedures are used to guarantee this kind of access to resources.

Procedure for managing and ensuring access to entities within the health care institution

This is the procedure for defining and cataloguing entities within the health care institution (organizational components: “departments”, “units”, etc.) in which patient care-giving is provided, as well as those entities in the patient’s environment (other organizations with which the institution communicates: health care networks, other medical institutions, separate agencies, protective welfare agencies, etc.).

Procedure for managing and ensuring access to knowledge

This is the process for presenting, consulting and using any professional knowledge that is required as the procedure is being implemented (classifications, nomenclatures, procedures, protocols, etc.).

Procedure for managing and ensuring access to identification

These are the procedures for managing the identity of the procedure's subjects.
These subjects may be the patient but they may also be the personnel representative, equipment, etc.

Procedure for managing and ensuring access to records

These are the procedures for managing records (or items contained in records) for the subjects of the procedures.
These subjects may be the patient but they may also be the personnel representative, etc.

Security management procedure

This involves authorization management (access control and security clearance) and certificate management.

These support functions are significantly affected by the reforms underway. As a result, human resource management, logistical and technical fields of activity, records management, knowledge management and collaborative work methods are all among the areas seeing major changes.