Preserve the document version a team has accepted

What this means for your practice

Agree how versions are identified and when a receiving record should reference a new version. Preserve enough history to explain what was reviewed or acted upon.

Questions to take to your supplier

Send a revised fictional file after the first version has been accepted. Can staff identify both versions and the one the earlier decision used? Agree when the new version replaces a working reference and whether approval needs to be repeated.

Agree the working process

Decide how the business distinguishes a replacement, a new version and a correction. Different document types may need different handling, especially where an earlier version supported an approval or administrative decision. The responsible team should set those rules and the supplier should demonstrate how the receiving record shows them. Use a fictional document that has already been reviewed, then send a revision with a meaningful change. Can staff identify what was accepted earlier and what now needs attention?

Agree which version is linked from the current working view and whether earlier material remains available under the organisation's retention decisions. Keep document identity separate from a filename that somebody may edit casually. Ask what happens if revisions arrive out of order or the same version is sent twice. The goal is a history colleagues can explain without technical reconstruction. A newer arrival should not silently erase the basis of an earlier decision or make an unreviewed change appear approved.

How to check the result

Count unexplained document replacements.