Policies and communication

General:

AG Health Promotion makes a virtue of nurturing an informal, happy and constructive way of socializing. It is the KLAN SPIRIT that will characterize us, and give us the tailwind that small companies need in the fight against the big ones.

However, this should not prevent certain fixed frameworks for our foundations in terms of quality, legislation and cooperation. Therefore, we have defined a few policies below, some of which are mandatory for legislation and quality standards, and others are a little more in the nature of positive choices from AGS’ management.

As always, we encourage constructive suggestions for improvements, not only of procedures and methods, but also of policies. It happens that something does not go quite as we want and we are honest about this. It must give rise to improvements – not sanctions!

However, it is a very general policy that no changes take place until it has been assessed and decided by AGS’s management.

Quality policy

Quality manual section 2.5:

It is AGS’ policy that our products and advice are carried out with health professional and ethical responsibility, taking into account the individual client’s integrity and safety, the customer-company’s production, finances, impact on the external environment and the requirements of applicable Danish legislation (e.g. working environment and personal data registration and handling).

AGS operates and maintains processes for the management of the business as a whole, in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 and EN 15224:2016, for the management of the clinical services and for the management of risks associated with the performance of these services, and will continuously monitor and improve the quality management processes and their effectiveness in order to achieve quality characteristics and quality objectives for the benefit and satisfaction of clients and customers, as well as avoiding waste of resources, materials, etc. in order to improve competitiveness.

The quality policy is reviewed with a view to continued suitability during the annual Management Evaluation in accordance with Chapter 3.7.

And how is this to be understood…?

• We work systematically, that is, according to defined procedures, so we KNOW that it is correct and the same every time. If errors occur, we register them, follow up and take steps to prevent it from happening again – it is NOT to shame anyone !!
• We are risk-oriented, that is, we think “what can go wrong” BEFORE IT HAPPENS, if possible, analyze and take steps to prevent it from happening,
• We work in processes, that is, things are done in a specific order (Sales → planning → purchasing → execution → data analysis … etc.) so that we do not forget anything, and nothing starts until the prerequisites are in place,
• We have a high level of professionalism, which means that we measure and advise our clients according to recognized healthcare methods. We do not diagnose (we suggest contacting your own doctor) and never suggest alternative treatments or home medical experiments.
• We are there for the client, which means that our advice must be based on the client’s situation. Despite poor measurement results, the client must walk out the door satisfied . There is always something nice to say!

Environmental policy:

Even if you are a small company, you can contribute to the survival of the planet. It is AGS’s general policy to act as environmentally conscious as possible in our operation, including creating as little waste as possible and generally optimising transport to and from projects.

These are examples of deliberate measures at AGS;

• In 2020, our paper client questionnaires transitioned to digital questionnaires, which are now accessed from our website (saved approx. 10,000 pages A4 per year),
• Projects are generally assigned to the nurse who lives closest. Should it exceptionally be necessary to drive longer than approx. 150 km each way, we recommend that our resources take local accommodation rather than commuting.
• We are “lowpower” in the clinic equipment and have e.g. stopped the use of the Centrifuge (100W) which should run 5 minutes per client with blood tests,
• Our electricity supplier at the address in Borup is based exclusively on wind energy (Vindstød),
• All cardboard, paper and plastic from the office and material deliveries are handed over to Køge Municipality’s recycling scheme.
• Needle waste is handed in and documented in Køge Municipality’s waste sorting.

Communication:

Of course, we speak nicely to everyone, each other as well as clients and customers. Even a bad message can be served politely. Bullying or any other form of clan-damaging behavior is strictly prohibited.

External communication:

As a rule, it is Annette or Peter who has the contact with the customer and any authorities, and the nurse who has the contact with the client.
The clinic resource can agree on minor scheduling adjustments with the customer’s local contact person, as long as it does not affect resources or project finances.

In the clinic, the focus is on the client and the services that have been agreed:

• We do not mention our own personal or private matters (nor those of colleagues or management),
• We do not express disagreement – let alone dissatisfaction – with internal procedures or decisions,
• We do not suggest competitors’ services, but reference to any own services (which are not in competition with AGS) can be agreed with Annette.

REMEMBER: No matter how bad things are, there is ALWAYS something nice to say to the client.

Internal communication:

We appreciate an informal tone. There are no “stupid questions”, and in general we would rather spend 5 minutes repeating an explanation than risk spending 5 hours cleaning up after something that could have been avoided – if it had been asked in time :-)

However, it is necessary to keep a short leash in the communication that deals with project coordination:

• SMS, Messenger or WhatsApp messages are cozy but are considered informal. They do not count as documentation for planning, etc., – rather use Email, TEAMS chat, or call Annette,
• It is expected that the STORE PLAN resource sheet is kept up to date – the art of the possible, of course.
  The better the availability is updated, the faster Annette can react when a new project comes up. If nothing (neither red nor green) is stated, Annette assumes that there are options, but will as a starting point prioritize the resource that lives nearby and/or that has green-marked the day.
  If you change a day from green to either red or blank, Annette must be informed. It IS conceivable that she is in the process of disposing in relation to the green marking.

AGS Identity:

We find it important that our customers and clients can see who we are and that we are AG Health Promotion staff. We want you to wear our logo in one way or another when you are on a project. Either you have your AGS ID card visible, or you have an AGS shirt/vest on;).

Clothing:

It is not without reason that we have invested in a good quality AGS clothing for everyone. It is not a uniform in the traditional sense, but an opportunity to be AGS-visible when we are at the customer’s premises. And we would very much like the clothes to be used as much as possible :D

ID card:

It may be a bit of a hassle to have the ID card hanging around when you are in clinics, but have it out and preferably carry it if you leave the clinic room, so the company can see that you are a welcome guest. This often gives employees the opportunity to ask about the health checks in the company.
If an ID card is lost, you can contact Peter to have a new one made.

Health policy:

It is of course unacceptable to be under the influence of drugs, including alcohol, when representing AGS – in the clinic as well as other contacts with customers or clients.

We are all healthcare professionals, so it is expected that each of us exhibits a healthcare behaviour comparable to, or better than, what we recommend to clients. We are role models!
We thus have expectations for appearance and behavior that have a logical connection with what we sell and perform.

• At AGS, you are a non-smoker, and certainly never in connection with a clinic project,
• We prefer that clinic resources are in “appropriate” physical shape. We would rather have experience than fitness, but you can’t suggest a “very overweight” person to lose weight if you yourself have the same shape …?

Personal data policy

AGS undertakes to comply with the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR), and as a data controller in relation to the individual client, it is our policy to store and protect the client’s personal health data for as long as the client’s employer (the client company) can be considered a customer of AGS, or until the client possibly requests to have his data deleted – whichever comes first.
However, exempt from data deletion are studies that have been carried out in accordance with the legal obligation in AT Bek. 1165, where we MUST store data for 40 years.

The purpose of registering clients’ health data is primarily to be able to present the client with his/her historical data at a later examination, for the benefit of the health professional advice. However, we may also use them to compile anonymised statistical reports to the customer after the project. Here, the principle is that no client must be identifiable, either directly or indirectly.
Client data is not shared with external organizations, except for Danish authorities who may request data in connection with the processing of e.g. an industrial injury case (such as a hearing impairment).

Clients’ health data is stored according to the following principles:

• AGS is the Data Controller for the clients’ registered master data and health data measured by AGS, unless the client’s employer has requested a data processing agreement, whereby the client company becomes the Data Controller and AGS becomes the Data Processor. However, such a customer data retention agreement will ALWAYS contain a clause stating that individual health data is NOT shared with the customer company.
• Klinter’s data is stored in Office365 OneDrive and on protected digital media in AGS’ home office, Cloud Backup daily+.
• Client data is stored for 3 years from the last examination performed by the employer in question, unless otherwise agreed with the company on behalf of their employees (our clients), except for examinations covered by the Danish Working Environment Authority’s Executive Order No. 1165 of 16 December 1992 on Occupational Medical Examinations, where the storage requirement is 40 years,
• As of 25. May 2018, clients are asked for written consent for data registration, Consent list is presented in the clinic.
• Consent to data collection is not a condition for conducting surveys, except for those required by law. A handwritten report will simply be filled out for the client,
• Clients who are in AGS’s databases for health data before 25. May 2018, do not have to give consent for the registration of data before this date,
• A client’s request for data deletion (or denied consent) must be complied with after a maximum of 1 month.
• Health data is not stored in third countries.

Specific descriptions of the handling are set out in Section 9 of the Quality Manual.