Joint Commission Introduces SAFER Matrix, Revamps Scoring and Survey Procedures

The Joint Commission’s multiphase process improvement project, Project REFRESH, includes what the organizations calls “a transformative approach for identifying and communicating risk levels associated with deficiencies cited during surveys.” The new approach, dubbed the “Survey Analysis for Evaluating Risk (SAFER)” approach provides organizations with additional information related to risk of deficiencies to help prioritize and focus corrective actions.

The Joint Commission identifies the development of this approach was driven by the organization’s focus on providing its accredited and certified organizations with an on-site and post-survey experience that allows the organization to see areas of noncompliance at an aggregate level – one that shows significant components of risk analysis including the likelihood to harm and the scope of a cited deficiency.

Joint Commission Releases Statement on Pain Management, Addresses Common Misconceptions

The Joint Commission has issued the following statement on pain management, and addressed common misconceptions regarding related Joint Commission requirements:

In the environment of today’s prescription opioid epidemic, everyone is looking for someone to blame. Often, The Joint Commission’s pain standards take that blame. We are encouraging our critics to look at our exact standards, along with the historical context of our standards, to fully understand what our accredited organizations are required to do with regard to pain.

The Joint Commission first established standards for pain assessment and treatment in 2001 in response to the national outcry about the widespread problem of undertreatment of pain. The Joint Commission’s current standards require that organizations establish policies regarding pain assessment and treatment and conduct educational efforts to ensure compliance. The standards DO NOT require the use of drugs to manage a patient’s pain; and when a drug is appropriate, the standards do not specify which drug should be prescribed.

Our foundational standards are quite simple. They are:

• The hospital educates all licensed independent practitioners on assessing and managing pain.
• The hospital respects the patient’s right to pain management.
• The hospital assesses and manages the patient’s pain.

Requirements for what should be addressed in organizations’ policies include:

BHC News Issue 1 2016 for The Joint Commission Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program

The Joint Commission has published the 1st 2016 issue of BHC News, the newsletter for its Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program. Contents include:

• U.S. Department of Defense proposes revisions to TRICARE to reduce administrative barriers to treatment
• New standards effective July 1 to address eating disorders programs
• CCBHC regulations go hand-in-hand with Joint Commission accreditation, certification
• See you there – Joint Commission’s Behavioral Health Care Accreditation staff at upcoming events

BHC News Issue 2 2015 for The Joint Commission Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program

The Joint Commission has published the 2nd 2015 issue of BHC News, the newsletter for its Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program. Contents include:

• Effective immediately: Revised SAMHSA guidelines for opioid treatment programs
• Top five most challenging behavioral health care requirements for 2014
• Standards Q&A
• New on the Web
• Conferences and conventions

BHC News Issue 1 2015 for The Joint Commission Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program

The Joint Commission has published the 1st 2015 issue of BHC News, the newsletter for its Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program. Contents include:

• KVC uses multiorganization option to maximize survey benefits
• Standards Q&A: Written qualifications and competencies
• Free workshop for behavioral health care and substance use professionals
• Connecticut Mental Health Center customizes Speak Up materials for clients, families
• New on the Web
• Conferences and conventions

Transitions of Care: The Need for Collaboration Across Entire Care Continuum

The Joint Commission’s “Transitions of Care: The Need for Collaboration Across Entire Care Continuum” is the second in a series of Hot Topics in Healthcare reports on development from The Joint Commission enterprise about work underway to address the challenges related to transitions of care.

This paper focuses on the need for collaboration across the care continuum (as a patient moves from one care setting to another).

2nd Quarter 2012 Issue of ‘BHC News’ for The Joint Commission Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program Now Available

BHC News | Issue 2, 2012

• Ohio to Create Health Homes for Individuals with SPMI/SMI/SED
• PTAC Gives BHC Organizations a Voice
• Joint Commission Choir Performs at Behavioral Health Care Conference
• Prevention and Wellness Promotion Services Standards

Transitions of Care: The Need for a More Effective Approach to Continuing Patient Care

The Joint Commission’s “Transitions of Care: The Need for a More Effective Approach to Continuing Patient Care” is the first of many planned Hot Topics in Healthcare communications that will report on new developments from The Joint Commission enterprise about work underway to address the problems related to transitions of care.

This paper defines the problem and highlights the elements of some current evidence-based transitions of care models being researched by the enterprise.

Joint Commission Tackles Problems Related to Transitions of Care; Launches Web Portal

The Joint Commission enterprise – The Joint Commission, Joint Commission Resources, and The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare – has published the first of many planned communications that will report on new developments from the enterprise about work underway to address problems related to transitions of care.

The first paper, “Transitions of Care: The Need for a More Effective Approach to Continuing Patient Care,” defines the problem and highlights the elements of some current evidence-based transitions of care models being researched by the enterprise.

Currently, The Joint Commission enterprise is in the first year of a three-year initiative to define methods for achieving improvement in the effectiveness of the transitions of patients between health care organizations, which provide for the continuation of safe, quality care for patients in all settings.

The Joint Commission, Joint Commission Resources, and The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare will offer various interventions and resources that are designed collectively to improve transitions of care. The interventions would apply to The Joint Commission’s accreditation programs for hospitals, critical access hospitals, behavioral health care, home care, long-term care, and ambulatory care settings.

The Joint Commission currently has standards, National Patient Safety Goals, survey activities, and educational services that address transitions of care. However, according to The Joint Commission, these mechanisms have limited utility or reach. For example, the current standards and survey process address certain transitions of care concerns within a health care setting, but neither “cross settings,” nor do they address what happens to patients after they leave a health care setting.

To further support the initiative, The Joint Commission enterprise has launched a Transitions of Care (ToC) Portal on The Joint Commission website, designed as a resource for information related to the topic of transitions of care .

[Updated] Joint Commission Revises Waived Testing (WT) Requirements

The Joint Commission has released pre-publication standards, effective immediately, revising Waived Testing (WT) standard WT.04.01.01, element of performance (EP) 4.

The revised requirement is applicable to Ambulatory Care, Behavioral Health Care, Home Care, Hospital, Laboratory, Long-Term Care, Medicare/Medicaid Certification–Based Long-Term Care, and Office-Based Surgery programs.

The revised EP eliminates the requirement to perform quality control (QC) checks each day on devices used for instrument-based waved, and instead requires checks be performed per manufacturer’s instructions.

The revised requirement to perform QC checks per manufacturer’s instructions aligns with the current Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) requirement, which can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 42 CFR § 493.15(e)(1).

The pre-publication standards are available on The Joint Commission website.