Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) are once again being reminded that they must have a completed credentials file for every practitioner at their organization.
Be prepared for COVID-19 cases to increase in number and potentially severity if the general public becomes too lax in vaccination, testing, and using precautions once the public health emergency (PHE) officially ends on May 11.
Do you need to update your hospital’s sign detailing its responsibilities under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA)? What do you do when law enforcement asks for medical records?
Expect more patients in the emergency room (ER) seeking help with behavioral health issues when the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends—especially if the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) does not act to renew PHE-related flexibilities allowing prescriptions of controlled substances...
Beware of repeat deficiencies. CMS is pressing accrediting organizations (AO) to deal more harshly with hospitals that have repeat citations, including elevating a recurring finding to a condition-level deficiency after a time.
The Joint Commission’s time frame for evaluating licensed practitioners’ ability to provide care, treatment, and services has been updated from two years to three years, and is intended to better align with the standard practice of evaluating licensed practitioners.
In its final rule, CMS included behavioral health and low-risk maternal labor and delivery on the list of services allowed under the rural emergency hospital (REH) designation. However, some hospitals have questions about how those services will work with the requirement to have patients in...
Look for the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) to continue collaborating with hospitals and other healthcare providers to improve patient safety through...
Ensure safeguards against sink splash in areas designated for clean medication preparation or face potential citations from surveyors, especially now that the problem has been called out in recently updated CDC core prevention and infection control practices.
