TJC, Others Respond to CMS Concerns About AO Consulting, Conflicts of Interest
CMS published a request for information in mid-December, asking the public to weigh in on whether accrediting organizations that also offer consulting services have, or at least create, a public perception of conflict of interest.
Joint Commission Updates Anticoagulant NPSG
All the changes are listed in R3 Report 19 and will take effect July 1, 2019. The update applies to all TJC-accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals, nursing care centers, and medical centers accredited under the ambulatory healthcare program.
CMS Looks Into Whether AOs Have Conflicts of Interest
On December 18, the federal agency pre-published a request for information on “Medicare Program: Accrediting Organizations Conflict of Interest and Consulting Services.”
TJC Releases Compliance and Sentinel Event Stats for First Half of 2018
The latest list, published in the September issue of Perspectives, shows the standards scored most frequently as “not compliant” during Joint Commission accreditation surveys and certification reviews from January 1 through June 30, 2018.
Final Hazardous Waste Pharmaceutical Rule Issued by EPA
Three years after it was proposed, the final rule, now entitled “Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P0875 Listing for Nicotine” will likely be published in the Federal Register by the end of this month and go into effect six months after its publication in the Register.
Biased Against Accredited Hospitals? Joint Commission Refutes Study
The Joint Commission contends that the study drew invalid conclusions by trying to compare “two radically different groups of hospitals” resulting in a bias against accredited hospitals.
Patient Outcomes No Better For Joint Commission–Accredited Hospitals Than Peers
Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health compared 4,400 hospitals across the United States, of which 3,337 were accredited, including 2,847 by The Joint Commission, and 1,063 hospitals that underwent state-based reviews between 2014 and 2017.
Joint Commission Surveyor Focus Remains on EC, LS, Ligature Risks
Suicide prevention and ligature risk, medication management, and emergency management were among the topics addressed for environment of care and other healthcare and quality professionals attending The Joint Commission’s annual Hospital Executive Briefings in New York City.
Increased CMS Oversight Puts Pressure on AOs to Spot Problems
In a new report to Congress, CMS says the disparity rate between serious problems identified by the AOs and those found by CMS surveyors within 60 days of survey was 46% in fiscal year 2016, up from 38% and 39%, respectively, in the two preceding fiscal years.
CMS to Increase Oversight of Accreditation Organizations
CMS wants to put a stronger spotlight on times when The Joint Commission and other accreditation organzations fail to find patient safety problems later discovered by CMS survey teams conducting performance checks referred to as validation surveys.