Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 26 announced that, effective immediately, Human Resources (HR) standard HR.01.05.03, element of performance (EP) 15, has been deleted from the Hospital, Critical Access Hospital, Ambulatory Care, and Office-Based Surgery accreditation programs. The deleted EP is: “The [organization] verifies and documents that individuals (including…

Read More

As part of a special series on artificial intelligence (AI), OR Manager is taking a deep dive into the many facets of this new technology and its impact on patient care. Part 1 and Part 2 of the introduction to AI (May 2019 and June 2019) defined types of AI…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced June 5 that beginning January 1, 2020, accredited office-based surgery practices that provide fluoroscopy services will be required to comply with element of performance (EP) 17 of Environment of Care (EC) standard EC.02.02.01: The practice manages risks related to hazardous materials and waste. This…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 29 announced performance measures for two newly developed advanced Disease-Specific Care Certification programs−Acute Heart Attack Ready and Primary Heart Attack Center. The measures will go into effect July 1, 2019, for critical access hospitals and hospitals (including freestanding emergency departments) pursuing these certifications.…

Read More

Nearly 40 “awareness” or prevention and education wellness initiatives are listed for the month of May—among them, National Nurses Week, World Hand Hygiene Day, and Mental Health Month. Mental health caught my eye because it was a featured topic at the World Healthcare Congress in Washington, DC, where a panel…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 14 announced that it is expanding its quality measure program to provide accredited hospitals with year-round, real-time access to quality measures without additional outside vendors. The Joint Commission can now use a single environment to specify, develop, test, and distribute clinical quality language…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 8 announced that its Ambulatory Care Accreditation team is launching a "We Know Surgery" campaign to highlight its 45-year history accrediting ambulatory care organizations. The campaign, which is being launched in conjunction with the Ambulatory Surgery Centers Association (ASCA) conference in Nashville May…

Read More

Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on April 26 announced it is lowering the maximum civil penalty for healthcare providers, health plans, and business associates who violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), based on the level of culpability. A 2013 rule created four…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 23 issued a new draft guidance to help manufacturers avoid delays in preparing, planning, and executing voluntary recalls. The guidance includes recommendations in three areas: proper training of personnel thorough and organized record keeping written recall initiation procedures. The guidance…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on April 24 announced that it will be posting spring 2019 updates to the E-dition® of its accreditation and certification manuals in May. The changes, which can be viewed on an organization’s Joint Commission Connect® extranet site, will go into effect July 1 unless otherwise…

Read More