Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 25 released new and revised pain assessment and management standards that will be applicable to accredited critical access hospitals and ambulatory care and office-based surgery organizations, effective January 1, 2019. The standards are designed to strengthen an organization’s practices for pain assessment, treatment,…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 20 announced “Quick Safety 42: Identifying human trafficking victims.” The Quick Safety focuses on: recognizing signs of human trafficking knowing when to involve law enforcement becoming familiar with community resources that can help the victims.

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on June 20 that it is seeking comments on proposed changes to the National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) 03.05.01 on reducing harm from anticoagulant therapy. Revised requirements, which will address the use of new direct oral anticoagulant medications, include: drug selection dosing and monitoring…

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Editor's Note The American Heart Association (AHA) and Joint Commission are partnering to enhance cardiovascular patient care through a range of disease-specific hospital certification programs, the AHA announced on June 11. Both organizations are expanding their 15-year relationship in stroke certification to in-hospital cardiovascular patient care. The expansion will consolidate…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 13 announced that starting this month it will be implementing survey process improvements for how it assesses safety culture in hospitals and critical access hospitals. Improvements will be implemented for all other programs by October. Among the process improvement expectations: An organization will…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 6 announced that beginning July 1, it will need to be notified if an accredited organization loses its deemed status after a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) complaint survey or validation survey. When CMS removes an organization’s deemed status and places…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 31 issued a new Quick Safety advisory to help prepare healthcare organizations for disasters such as, power failure, fire, flood, industrial accident, or cyberattack. The advisory, "Quick Safety 41: Emergency management: Need for continuity of operations planning," provides risk factors, safety recommendations, and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 16 announced that approximately 25% of applicable elements of performance (EPs) in its ambulatory care program will no longer apply to organizations that primarily provide surgical and nonsurgical services via a telehealth platform. Among the reductions: 12 EPs in the Environment of Care…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on May 2 that beginning January 1, 2019, it will start applying minimum mechanical thrombectomy volume requirements to the Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) certification program. Organizations applying for certification will have to meet the new volume requirements in addition to previous volume requirements, such…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on April 17 announced that it had issued a new Sentinel Event Alert 59: Physical and verbal violence against healthcare workers. The Joint Commission issued the alert during Workplace Violence Awareness Month to help healthcare workers in hospitals and other healthcare settings recognize violence from…

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