Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on February 9 that it will add requirements and expand the review process to 2-days for Primary Stroke Centers (PSCs) that provide mechanical thrombectomy (MT) and are seeking advanced certification or recertification, effective July 1, 2022. The additional tracer time and requirements will help…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on February 2, announced that it has made several changes to its elements of performance to reflect Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulatory language more closely. The revisions, which will take effect on July 1, 2022, are applicable to hospitals and critical access hospitals…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on January 26 that it will add four new performance measures to four recently revised Health Care Staffing Services (HCSS) measures. The new measures will be used to report staff turnover rates and track reasons for staff turnover. The new performance measures apply to…

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The Joint Commission revises Environment of Care Chapter The Joint Commission on January 26 announced that it has approved several revisions to Elements of Performance (EP) in the Environment of Care (EC) chapter, which will vary across accreditation programs. Among the revisions: Standard EC.02.04.01, EP 11, which addresses reporting incidents…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on January 19 that beginning January 27, 2022, for applicable deemed program surveys in progress on that day, it will begin surveying to the “Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination” interim final rule published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). As…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on January 12, announced that revisions to the Rights and Responsibilities of the Individual (RI) chapter addressing the written policy on informed consent and organizational use of images, films, and recording of patients will become effective July 1, 2022. Among the revisions: A new bullet…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced January 5, 2022, that, effective immediately, all disease-specific care (DSC) on-site reviews will implement a portion of the off-site review process developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The off-site review process required organizations to upload documentation before the scheduled review, which organizations told…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on December 15, announced that it had updated its 2022 ORYX performance measure reporting requirements for accredited critical access hospitals and hospitals, effective January 1, 2022. Among the updates: The Joint Commission’s new Direct Data Submission Platform (DDSP) will be available for hospitals to submit…

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The 2021 OR Manager Conference in Chicago saw John R. Rosing, MHA, FACHE, executive vice president and principal of Patton Healthcare Consulting, Naperville, Illinois, give his annual update on mastering Joint Commission standards and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) regulations. The past 2 years of COVID-19 restrictions have delayed…

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Editor's Note Please participate in an important nationwide perioperative survey on surgical smoke evacuation. The purpose of the research led by Brenda Ulmer MN, RN, CNOR, is to determine evacuation behaviors in hospitals before COVID-19, and then note changes as the virus continued to spread in the US. Ulmer and…

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