Well, not strictly speaking—I’m pretty sure we’ve been working on preparedness in the ambulatory care settings for a while now. I suspect that this is more of a recalibration to ensure that all applicable elements of the CMS Emergency Preparedness Final Rule are clearly accounted for in all the...
Make strategic use of alternate equipment management (AEM) plans to streamline your facility’s workload and eliminate unnecessary testing, suggests Richard L. Parker, CHFM, CLSS-HC, FACHE, FASHE, associate director of life safety and physical environment for the Accreditation Commission for...
Last week we asked about your perfect dream laboratory—but there is a reason we called it a dream. Most healthcare organizations can’t afford to build new laboratories from the ground up and instead have to work within their existing spaces the best they can. Space itself can be a major...
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) are being reminded of the importance of having complete documentation in patients’ medical records.
Cybersecurity never sleeps. A recent major report on the topic, published in November, comes from the U.S. government’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). This report is particularly significant due to the high value of protected health information (PHI), the critical...
Imagine if you could have your perfect laboratory. Leadership gave you the green light and the funds for you to design, build, and equip a new lab however you like. What annoyances would you remove? Would you prioritize staff comfort, security, or biosafety? What color would the walls be? Few...
Review security measures designed to stop drug diversion, and educate staff and providers about how to dispose properly of unused controlled substances.
As we continue our crawl through The Joint Commission standards changes, let’s drop in on the changes in the Infection Control chapter. Although the changes aren’t necessarily pointed at the physical environment, there’s a whole lot of content that can—and likely will—be applied to how things...
With the advent of side-by-side validation surveys, healthcare accreditation leaders have quickly realized that they need to be thoroughly prepared for all types of surveys every day, now more than ever.
If you could break any rule in service of a better experience for patients or healthcare staff, what would it be? What rules create complexity and effort for doctors, nurses, and patients without improving safety, efficiency, or comfort? And what’s stopping you from ditching those rules?
