Did you notice a significant change in the Universal Protocol™ (UP) recently? No? We’re not surprised. Most of us missed the fact that The Joint Commission removed the UP FAQs from its website. We’ve been told that there is no intention to re-post the FAQs, relying instead on the UP rationale...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 12
If you stay around long enough in this field, the issues just cycle back. This year in the annual Joint Commission Executive Briefings, the issue of standing orders once again was raised. MM.04.04.01, EP 1 defines standing orders as pre-written medication orders and specific instructions from...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 21, Issue 12
How quickly can you call up data on your nurses’ training and skill sets?
Midland (TX) Memorial Hospital recently changed its process for tracking online training and demonstrated proficiencies among its nurses. The change has resulted in a real-time information tracking program that has...
Starting in 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plan to add new standards for patient safety measures to its Hospital Compare website in order to enhance the effectiveness of Medicare’s fee-for-service program and monitor healthcare-related diseases and hospital-acquired...
The Joint Commission will reduce the timeframe for surveys by three months. This new rule will go into effect January 1, 2011. Previously, hospitals could expect a survey within 18-39 months of The Joint Commission’s previous visit; that time frame will now be between 18-36 months.