Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 2 announced that it has added safety briefings to all accreditation surveys as well as certification and verification reviews, effective January 1, 2023. The informal, 5-minute briefing allows organizations to tell surveyors and reviewers about any potential safety concerns and how they should…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 26 announced that it has created a Health Care Equity Resource Center to help organizations monitor their progress toward healthcare equity. New healthcare equity accreditation requirements, which will go into effect January 2023, recognize that organizations need established leaders as well as standardized…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on October 26 that it will resume intracycle calls for Disease-Specific Care (DSC) and Health Care Staffing Services (HCSS) certification programs, starting January 1, 2023. These calls, which were suspended in 2021 because of COVID-19, require programs to update their intracycle tabs in the…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, in collaboration with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), announced on October 20 the launch of Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care (ACPC). ACPC incorporates the latest research, evidence-based practices, and guidance to help improve quality and safety for pregnant or postpartum patients and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on October 12 that several revisions that have been made to the Environment of Care (EC) and Life Safety (LS) chapters for certain accreditation programs, including Hospital, Critical Access Hospital, Ambulatory Health Care, and Office-Based Surgery, will take effect January 1, 2023. The changes…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 5 announced that refreshed Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports are available for primary and comprehensive stroke centers to provide performance measurement data on the quality measures selected for advanced certification. The reports contain data through the first quarter of 2022 and are intended to…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 4 announced that it has joined the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health’s Sync for Social Needs coalition, committing to a role to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases in the US by 2030. The coalition brings together leading healthcare organizations…

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Editor's Note This study from Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, finds that hospital occupancy greater than 85% was linked to increased emergency department (ED) boarding beyond the 4-hour standard, during the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2020 through December 2021), and ED boarding increased even when hospital occupancy did…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 28 announced it is seeking input from the field on requirements for a new advanced certification program focused on improving healthcare equity. The voluntary program will recognize hospitals that strive for excellence in providing equitable care, treatment, and services across multiple domains, including…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on September 13 that it is reviewing its standards and requirements that go beyond the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) conditions of participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to determine whether some should be permanently retired. “As the [COVID-19 public health…

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