Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 7 announced that it is offering a new Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification, starting January 1. The voluntary program has been developed to recognize accredited hospitals that demonstrate excellence in delivering cardiac care through a combination of standards compliance, performance on targeted metrics, and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 30 announced that to better align with Medicare surveyor guidelines, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) electing to use the Medicare-deemed option may receive adjustment to the length of time for the survey and number of surveyors. The Life Safety Code component of the survey…

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Beginning January 1, 2017, the Joint Commission is “making significant changes in its survey methods and its standards manual,” says John R. Rosing, MHA, FACHE, executive vice president and principal, Patton Healthcare Consulting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and OR managers need to be prepared for them. The reason, he says, is that…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 7 released its 2016 Annual Report: “America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety.” The report, which includes information on how more than 3,300 accredited hospitals performed on measures of patient care in 2015, showed that hospital performance continued to improve, greatly enhancing quality of…

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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 on October 18 announced that Ohio Specialty Surgical Suites in North Canton, Ohio, is the first ambulatory surgical center to achieve its Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement. The advanced certification focuses on: The continuum of care through all phases of the…

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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 October 4 launched an online resource center to prevent workplace violence in healthcare settings. “Workplace Violence Prevention Resources” includes policies, procedures, guidelines, research, case studies, white papers, toolkits, and other material focused on workplace violence prevention and preparedness. The Joint Commission developed the resource…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 28 reported on an alert the National Alert Network (NAN) issued on medications leaking from Becton-Dickinson (BD) syringes (predominantly 10 mL). Leaks have extended past the first and second rib of the stopper, and appear to occur as medication is drawn into the…

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