When you affiliate with a vendor to provide services, you consent to providing access to your clients, employees, and records, you expose a high level of risk to your institution. Therefore, the first step in every new partnership should be to examine your vendor. You must ensure that they meet and maintain regulatory requirements.
Vendors should be vetted regardless of the relationship you have with any entity. A reputational risk is posed whether it’s a contracted company working directly with patient care or providing other non-clinical services to your facility.