PowerDMS - so you can stay in the know while you are on the go
July 11, 2017

PowerDMS - so you can stay in the know while you are on the go

Marisha Staub | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with PowerDMS

We use PowerDMS for many different purposes. We upload all of our policies to PowerDMS and assign them to staff to review and sign electronically. We are able to update policies directly on the site and if a staff member has already signed a policy, they are able to easily compare the old version with the new version by using the side-by-side feature. It highlights what has been added, what's been changed and what has been deleted. We also upload training videos, our annual tests, newsletters, meeting minutes, and store CPR and other life support certifications on PowerDMS. We also use their AAAHC Standards feature. The AAAHC Standards are included in our software and all we have to do is go in to each standard and highlight different sections of our policies that show that we are meeting each criteria. When surveyors come, they are given a special sign-on and can easily click through the standards and see our attached policies and processes for each criteria. It's so much faster and easier than to flip through hundreds of policies in binders. It's all laid out for them.
  • PowerDMS pairs you up with a consultant that will guide you through how to get started. They set up one-on-one webinars with you and walk you through step by step.
  • The consultants are always available by email and have a quick response time if you are having trouble with anything. There is also a web-chat option where you can chat with a representative if you run into any questions.
  • They have a lot of resource material. There are how-to articles with step-by-step instructions, there are training videos, there are live webinars that you can sign up to be a part of and ask questions, if you can't make it to the webinars - they have recorded webinars that you can watch. There are customer forums that you can get ideas and feedback from other users.
  • One area of functionality that could be improved is the Home icon. If you hover over the icon, a drop-down menu appears, but if you click on the Home Icon, it takes you to your home screen. It would be nice if they were separate icons.
  • Sometimes the format of your document changes slightly from what you see in Word.
  • If you update any of your policies and they are apart of your standards, you have to go back into the standard and move the highlight. It would be nice if there was a way that the highlight would follow the text.
  • When approving workflows of policies, if someone denies a policy it stops the workflow. You're supposed to approve the policy with a comment so that it goes to the next person in the workflow for review, or send it to another person to fix something. It would be nice if there was a third option like: Approved - changes needed (see notes). Then it wouldn't completely halt the workflow.
  • PowerDMS really cuts down on the amount of paper that we use. We've been using it for just shy of 1 year and we've saved 1.6 trees. PowerDMS has a tracker on your homepage to see how many trees you've saved.
PowerDMS is well-suited for any company that needs to have policies and procedures easily accessible for surveyors and staff. It works well for businesses that have staff that travel a lot. Our medical director was traveling out of the country and he was able to sign on to PowerDMS from his laptop and collaborate and approve policies while he was traveling. Our process was not halted in his absence. I think it is less appropriate for companies that have a lot of employees and their training and policies do not need to be monitored often. You do need to pay per user license. If your employees only review a handful of policies once a year, or once when they are hired, you may want to look for a more cost-effective software.