Every fall, The Joint Commission announces the top 20 most-cited standards among its accredited hospitals in conjunction with the annual Hospital Executive Briefings events. As has become a theme in the most-cited standards list over the past several years, clinical-based findings have continued...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 12
Many professionals who end up in a position of advocating for safety and quality improvements in the healthcare environment arrive there through personal experience. That experience might involve losing a relative to a preventable error, or having a firsthand experience with a...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 12
The Joint Commission has just left your hospital. First, make sure to celebrate the conclusion of the survey. Although the organization likely has RFIs, the number of RFIs is hopefully dwarfed by the areas in which your hospital has demonstrated full compliance. Communicate the conclusion of the...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 12
One of the major changes the final omnibus rule places on providers and business associates is the presumption that any unauthorized use or disclosure of unsecured protected health information (PHI) is a "breach." Specifically, the omnibus rule states that:
"… an...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 11
Think back to your last visit to a hospital as a patient or family member. Every patient care area has recognizable, ubiquitous items, such as automated blood pressure pumps, compression pumps, and IV pumps. But how do you know if those items were cleaned and/or disinfected? Were they used with...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 11
On August 27, CMS released significant changes impacting several areas of the Conditions of Participation (CoP). Interestingly, the information included in Transmittal 88 on August 27 rescinded and replaced a relatively recent update, Transmittal 86, on July 19.
To help you track these...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 11
Overall, BAs have been involved in about 22% of the more than 600 breaches that have been reported on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website from September 2009 through August 2013, affecting a total of about 22.5 million individuals, according to a health data breach...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 10
Everyone in healthcare knows about the struggles of medication reconciliation and its impact on patient safety and care. The Joint Commission takes notice, building standards and safety goals around safe use of medication, and every facility must take the time to look at its policies and...
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 10
Last month in BOJ, we began our discussion of a number of key memos CMS has released impacting hospitals this year. Let's continue our analysis by examining luer misconnections, new Interpretive Guidelines, and changes to reporting adverse events.
Briefings on Accreditation & Quality - Volume 24, Issue 10
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has issued 10 penalties to California hospitals after investigations that found that the facilities were noncompliant with licensing requirements that caused or was likely to cause serious injury or death to their patients. Total fines were $674,...
