CMS has officially put out guidance to its own state survey agencies that all its on-site surveyors should be fully vaccinated, and it expects the same of accrediting organizations (AO). However, according to Quality, Safety & Oversight Group memo QSO-22-10-ALL, AOs are expected to enforce...
Expect hospital accrediting organizations to continue to update their standards, especially to align more with the language in CMS Conditions of Participation.
Depending on what state your hospital or healthcare system is in and when you face your regularly scheduled survey, you might have weeks or only days to come into compliance with CMS’ interim final rule...
CMS is taking up the mantle along with The Joint Commission (TJC) to improve the safety of maternity patients who are at risk for pregnancy and postpartum complications.
Check manufacturer’s instructions for use (IFU) as well as nationally recognized standards when updating your policy on the regular maintenance and cleaning of washing machines and dryers used for patient belongings.
The Joint Commission (TJC) ended the year with a flurry of reminders about new and revised standards for 2022, many of which had either been announced before or were otherwise expected.
They include a rewritten Emergency Management (EM) chapter, released on December 17.
In 2022, CMS plans to restart its pilot project to improve validation surveys but is likely to continue pressure on accrediting organizations (AO) to be more vigilant in finding deficiencies in physical environment (PE), infection control (IC), fire safety, and patients’ rights.
The new, temporarily suspended CMS interim final rule (IFR) that requires staff vaccinations against COVID-19 will supersede state or local laws or orders that prevent vaccine mandates, notes Marge McFarlane, PhD, MT(ASCP), CHFM, CHSP, CJCP, HEM, MEP, with Superior Performance...
Located in the Mojave Desert, Ridgecrest Regional Hospital in Ridgecrest, California, is a critical access hospital that is closer to Las Vegas than it is a major earthquake fault line. Still, there have been minor temblors, so an earthquake had been on their list of potential emergency events...