Effective immediately, CMS says texting of patient information and of patient orders is permissible—with some caveats. In a memo to CMS state survey agency directors on February 8, CMS noted that due to technological advances in encryption and more secure interfaces between information...
Eyewash stations pose some of the most frequent problems during survey. But they don’t have to, says Richard L. Parker, CHFM, CLSS-HC, FACHE, FASHE, associate director of life safety and physical environment for the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC). Ask yourself one key question:...
The Accreditation Commission for Health Care’s (ACHC) recent Quality Review Edition of its publication TheSurveyor for acute care hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAH) examined the most...
Workplace violence in healthcare remains a serious matter. About 73% of all nonfatal workplace violence-related injuries involved healthcare workers in 2018, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Almost 90% of hospitals surveyed by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, were cited for deficiencies under one of the accrediting organization’s main infection prevention and control (IPC) standards.
If you have reason to believe your hospital may be subject to a complaint investigation by your accrediting organization (AO) or CMS, the best strategy is to be prepared with documentation, including evidence of how the patient safety problem was handled and what, if any, corrective measures...
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...
Make strategic use of alternate equipment management (AEM) plans to streamline your facility’s workload and eliminate unnecessary testing, suggests Richard L. Parker, CHFM, CLSS-HC, FACHE, FASHE, associate director of life safety and physical environment for the Accreditation Commission for...
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) are being reminded of the importance of having complete documentation in patients’ medical records.