The Joint Commission (JC) announced yesterday that it will resume its regular surveying and reviews beginning in June. The JC will identify and prioritize low-risk organizations, and organizations due for a survey can expect to be contacted by the JC for an assessment of the impact that COVID-19 has had on the organization. Although surveying will resume, the JC announced there will be changes to the process to maintain social distancing and protect all parties involved. Those changes include:

  • Limited number of individuals in meetings and increased use of audio and/or video conferencing.
  • Use of masks by all surveyors. The JC expects the organization being surveyed to provide appropriate protective equipment for the JC surveyors.
  • Use of technology to avoid extended periods of contact with an organization’s employees or to avoid entering high-risk areas. Examples include using screen-sharing to review electronic medical records and interviewing patients and staff by phone.

Continue Reading Joint Commission to Resume Surveys in June

Workplace violence is a risk at any health care workplace. Whether from patients, residents, clients, or employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) estimates that three quarters of all workplace assaults reported annually – approximately 19,000 – occurred in health care and social service settings.

While OSHA does not have any specific regulations addressing violence in the workplace, OSHA’s General Duty Clause applies to covered employers and requires they provide their employees with a place of employment that is “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious harm.” It is OSHA’s position that the General Duty Clause imposes a legal obligation upon an employer to provide a workplace free of conditions or activities “that either the employer or industry recognizes as hazardous and that cause, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to employees when there is a feasible method to abate the hazard.”

In recent years, OSHA has published guidelines to the health care community – Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers – with specific recommendations to prevent violence in health care workplaces. OSHA also has a webpage dedicated to workplace violence, which provides helpful guidance and training materials.

In an effort to further assist health care organizations better prevent and address violence in their workplaces, in April the Joint Commission released a Sentinel Event Alert addressing physical and verbal violence against health care workers. The Joint Commission accredits and certifies health care organizations and programs in the United States.Continue Reading Recent Joint Commission Guidance Recommends Steps for Health Care Organizations to Reduce Workplace Violence

The Joint Commission announced that it will eliminate a requirement of deemed home health organizations to provide the personalized written plan of care to patients. The announcement follows a communication from CMS that it will no longer require that the individualized written plan of care be given to the patients, as written in §484.60 of the Home Health Services Conditions of Participation.   Effective April  30, 2018, the Joint Commission will no longer score organizations on whether they fail to give their patients a written individualized plan of care.
Continue Reading Providing Patient Written Plan of Care Eliminated from The Joint Commission’s Standards for Deemed Home Health Agencies

Effective January 3, 2018, The Joint Commission (TJC) has revised its standards to no longer require TJC-accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals, and ambulatory care organizations to credential and privilege pathologists that provide diagnostic services through reference laboratories. TJC Introduction to Leadership Standard LD.04.03.09 generally requires that each hospital, critical access hospital or ambulatory care organization

The Joint Commission recently clarified that patient care orders may not be transmitted by secure text message.  The Joint Commission initially prohibited the practice in 2011 but subsequently allowed practitioners to send orders through a secure text messaging system if certain conditions were met.   In this most recent clarification, The Joint Commission states that concerns