On April 5, 2013, CMS released a proposed rule to the Survey, Certification and Enforcement Procedures, at 42 CFR §488 and 42 CFR §489. The proposed rule significantly strengthens the oversight by CMS over the national accreditation organizations (AO).
Patient falls are often associated with elderly patients, but as one hospital experienced firsthand, postpartum women recovering in the obstetrics room can also be at risk.
The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goal 07.05.01 on surgical site infections has been modified, and surveyors have currently stopped citing organizations that are out of compliance with element of performance (EP) 5 of the standard.
Last week US News and World Report released its annual list of top hospitals. The New York Times takes a look at what this annual ranking means for patients and what is says about American healthcare. Click the link above to read the full article.
While we are on the subject of the CMS, you may be interested to know that an update of the State Operations Manual (which is basically the foundation resource for the conduction of CMS surveys) was unveiled on June 7. Click the link above to read more.
The Joint Commission recently approved several revisions to ambulatory care standards, effective January 1, 2014, to ensure that these accreditation requirements remain relevant. Click the link above to read more about the revisions.
The Joint Commission approved new National Patient Safety Goal NPSG.06.01.01 on clinical alarm safety for hospitals and critical access hospitals in June of 2013. Click the link above to read more about the new goal and its elements of performance.
