Joint Commission revises Medication Management EPs

The Joint Commission has revised Medication Management elements of performance (EP) for several of its programs. The changes will go into effect on January 1, 2018 and will impact hospitals, ambulatory care, behavioral care, home care, nursing care centers, critical access hospitals, and office-based practices accredited by The Joint Commission. The revisions will require organizations to: 

•    Record the date and time of any medication administered in the patient’s clinical record.
•    Implement a policy to provide emergency backup for essential medication dispensing equipment and for essential refrigeration for medications.
•    Have a written policy addressing the control of medications between when they are received by a provider and given to a patient. Those policies should now include what to do for the “wasting of medications.”
•    Implement a policy describing the types of medication overrides for automatic dispensing cabinets that will be reviewed for appropriateness and the frequency.

The revisions vary depending on the program.