Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on April 4 that it is no longer scoring two elements of performance (EPs), effective March 9, that were removed from the Medication Compounding chapter in the Home Care Accreditation program standards manual and the Compounding Sterile and Nonsterile Preparations chapter in the Medication…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 14 announced that three revised requirements across the Life Safety (LS) and Environment of Care (EC) chapters went into effect March 11. The revisions are: LS.02.01.30, element of performance (EP) 13, is designed to maintain alignment with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission is revising its standards to better address risks related to fluoroscopy in the Ambulatory Care, Critical Access Hospital, Hospital, and Office-Based Surgery accreditation programs. The changes are being made to further promote patient safety and quality of care in addition to aligning the accreditation requirements…

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Editor's Note Joint Commission Resources on January 17 released the 2018 Hospital Compliance Assessment Checklist, a self-assessment workbook designed to help organizations with standards compliance and survey readiness. In addition to hospital standards and elements of performance (EP), this year’s Checklist includes: High-level prompts to promote staff discussion and cultivate…

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Editor's Note Joint Commission Resources announced on January 3 the release of two new publications to help organizations comply with requirements for accreditation. “Medical Staff Essentials” breaks down difficult concepts in the Medical Staff (MS) standards. “Root Cause Analysis in Health Care: Tools and Techniques” provides a systematic approach to…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 20, 2017, posted new and revised standards that go into effect in January 2018. Included are: Life Safety Code revisions that address topics such as testing of emergency lighting systems and inspection and testing of piped medical gas and vacuum systems. Medication Management…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 12 posted its summary of changes to accreditation and certification decision rules for all programs for 2018. Changes include initial accreditation, reaccreditation, and certification. The decision rules are effective for surveys and reviews beginning January 1, 2018.   Joint Commission requirement. Read More…

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The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) in September released the newest version of the ANSI/AAMI ST 79 Comprehensive Guide to Steam Sterilization and Sterility Assurance in Healthcare Facilities. This document, last updated in 2013, has been under a major review for changes in the format presentation and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 8 announced the update of its Patient Blood Management standards to align with AABB standards. Among the changes: educational requirements for those who order and/or transfuse blood defined guidelines on transfusion orders procedures for emergent/urgent patients, including massive blood loss intraoperative methods for…

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Editor's Note The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAHC) announced on November 2 that it has developed a new Orthopaedic Certification program for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). After an ASC achieves overall accreditation, it can acquire the Orthopaedic Certification to demonstrate excellence in the specialty of orthopaedics by meeting…

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