Monthly Archives: April 2015

Joint Commission Publishes New FAQ on Texting Orders

This FAQ has been updated. See the current post.

The Joint Commission has published a new FAQ under its Record of Care, Treatment, and Services (RC) chapter regarding texting patient orders.

Texting Orders

Q. Is it acceptable for physicians and licensed independent practitioners (and other practitioners allowed to write orders) to text orders for patients to the hospital or other healthcare setting?

A. No it is not acceptable for physicians or licensed independent practitioners to text orders for patients to the hospital or other healthcare setting. This method provides no ability to verify the identity of the person sending the text and there is no way to keep the original message as validation of what is entered into the medical record.

The FAQ is available on The Joint Commission website.

Joint Commission Updates Hospital FAQ on Restraint & Seclusion, Addresses Use of Telemedicine for In-Person Evaluations

The Joint Commission has updated its hospital FAQ for Provision of Care, Treatment, and Services (PC) standards related to behavioral health restraints and seclusion.

Special Interventions (Behavioral Health Restraints & Seclusion)

Q. Is the use of a telemedicine link allowed for use by the LIP who conducts the in-person evaluations of an individual in restraint or seclusion?

A. No. A telemedicine link does not fulfill the in-person requirement for the evaluation by an LIP of the individual in restraint or seclusion.

The hospital FAQ is available on The Joint Commission website.

OSHA Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers

Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers (OSHA 3148-04R 2015) updates OSHA’s 1996 and 2004 voluntary guidelines for preventing workplace violence for healthcare and social service workers. OSHA’s violence prevention guidelines are based on industry best practices and feedback from stakeholders, and provide recommendations for developing policies and procedures to eliminate or reduce workplace violence in a range of healthcare and social service settings.

These guidelines reflect the variations that exist in different settings and incorporate the latest and most effective ways to reduce the risk of violence in the workplace. Workplace setting determines not only the types of hazards that exist, but also the measures that will be available and appropriate to reduce or eliminate workplace violence hazards.

The guidelines are not a new standard or regulation. They are advisory in nature, informational in content and intended to help employers establish effective workplace violence prevention programs adapted to their specific worksites. They are performance-oriented, and how employers implement them will vary based on the site’s hazard analysis.

Violence inflicted on employees may come from many sources – external parties such as robbers or muggers and internal parties such as coworkers and patients. These guidelines address only the violence inflicted by patients or clients against staff. However, OSHA suggests that workplace violence policies indicate a zero-tolerance for all forms of violence from all sources.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) mandates that, in addition to compliance with hazard-specific standards, all employers have a general duty to provide their employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. OSHA will rely on Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, the “General Duty Clause,”2 for enforcement authority. Failure to implement these guidelines is not in itself a violation of the General Duty Clause. However, employers can be cited for violating the General Duty Clause if there is a recognized hazard of workplace violence in their establishments and they do nothing to prevent or abate it.