Q&A: Contracted clinical services monitoring

Q: What information should I have on hand about clinical contracts during a survey?

A: You can bet that a surveyor will request this information in one way or another as The Joint Commission mandates that this information be available.

Get comfortable with whether your organization can demonstrate oversight of contracted services to ensure that the care being delivered is satisfactory. The first step is to ask administration for a centralized list of contracted services and to determine if it is current. For example, at a management meeting, review the accuracy of the list against the services you offer to determine whether all contractors are accounted for. This is really important if the oversight of contractors is distributed among various leadership staff members.

Next, review the contract language to see if there is a requirement to meet all hospital, Joint Commission, and state or federal requirements. This is important, and if your contractors are doing business in multiple hospitals, make sure they are aware of what is required. Review all the data elements that are being collected and how they are reviewed.

Editor’s Note: Do you have a question about clarifying RFIs, policy management, or survey-prep for our experts? E-mail your queries to Jaclyn Beck at jbeck@hcpro.com and receive one-on-one advice from our experienced advisory board. Submit a question and our credible sources will provide you with a timely answer.