Editor's Note As of January 1, 2017, the Joint Commission’s Clarification Process will change, with the goal to reduce the amount of post-survey work that has to be done to the Accreditation Decision Report. The changes will affect: Documents not available at the time of survey: Required documents not available…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced October 12 that it is seeking input on proposed revisions to its National Patient Safety Goals on healthcare associated infections (HAIs) for ambulatory care and office-based surgery and hospitals and critical access hospitals. The proposed revisions address surgical site infections and central line-associated blood…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 5 announced its 2017 ORYX performance measurement requirements, effective January 1. Though the Joint Commission is closely aligned with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, it has not adopted all of the electronic clinical quality measures…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 27 announced that it has deleted 51 Elements of Performance (EPs) from its hospital accreditation standards, effective January 2017. Reasons for deletion include: Similar to, implicit in, or duplicative of other EPs. Address issues that have been covered by standards for many years…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 21 announced an update of its policy on notification of changes in accredited organizations, which will take effect October 1. Previously, organizations had to notify the Joint Commission within 30 days after a significant change. The new policy requires organizations to provide written…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 7 released its 2017 ORYX Performance Measurement Reporting Requirements for accredited hospitals. Hospitals will report on 5 chart-abstracted measures and a choice of 6 of 13 electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs). Critical access and small hospitals may choose the six eCQMs from 13…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August 31 released its top five most challenging requirements for the first half of 2016. The top five requirements cited most frequently as “not compliant” for hospitals during surveys and reviews from January 1 through June 30 are: 66% EC.02.06.01 The hospital establishes and…

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Editor's Note In this study, the preponderance of medical evidence supports Center of Excellence accreditation for bariatric surgery centers. This meta-analysis analyzed 13 studies that included more than 1.5 million patients. Among the benefits of accreditation: 10 studies found a substantial benefit for risk-adjusted outcomes 6 studies reported a considerable…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on May 18 that it had updated its Quality Check website. The website, launched in 1996, allows customers to search for accredited and certified organizations by city, state, name, zip code, or Joint Commission identification number. The updated site also lets customers search by services…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 29 approved the San Francisco-based Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ) as a national accrediting organization for Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) that participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs (known as deemed status), the May ASC Focus reports. IMQ…

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