Well, not strictly speaking—I’m pretty sure we’ve been working on preparedness in the ambulatory care settings for a while now. I suspect that this is more of a recalibration to ensure that all applicable elements of the CMS Emergency Preparedness Final Rule are clearly accounted for in all the...
As we continue our crawl through The Joint Commission standards changes, let’s drop in on the changes in the Infection Control chapter. Although the changes aren’t necessarily pointed at the physical environment, there’s a whole lot of content that can—and likely will—be applied to how things...
As recently announced, effective July 1, 2024, organizations using The Joint Commission (TJC) for their accreditation are required to adopt a number of specific elements to be included in their workplace violence programs.
After binging the latest season of The Great British Baking Show, it occurred to me that there are (or can be) various levels of precision that must manifest themselves in various creative endeavors—even those relating to compliance. Setting aside my absolute feelings regarding the regulatory...
I know we’ve probably discussed this as much as we need to (or perhaps want to), but I want to touch on (hopefully for the last time) what is actually called out in the Federal regulations. I think it could be instructive as one prepares for managing survey findings based on what might best be...
As one might imagine, I’ve had the chance to review a lot of different risk assessments over the course of the last little while (OK, maybe more than a little while…unless 20-plus years is a little while). One of the interesting dynamics I’ve encountered relates to the surveillance of...
First off, I want to wish you all the very brightest and most prosperous New Year—it’s been a while since a new year has totally delivered on its promise, but I (as always) choose to remain optimistic until proven otherwise.
As we enter the final moments of 2023 (we won’t be publishing the week of December 25, so I shan’t be pestering you about stuff and nonsense), I continue to reflect on the struggle (and, believe me, the struggle is real) of compliance versus human tendencies. (I was going to say human nature,...
One of the topics that doesn’t necessarily get a lot of coverage in this space relates to the management of medical gas systems and equipment. As we edge ever nearer to the New Year, I think sharing some learned resources in that regard would be worthwhile. Certainly, one of the lessons learned...