Editor's Note Four new performance measures are available for the Joint Commission’s Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement (THKR) advanced certification program, the Joint Commission announced on July 5. They are: THKR-1 Regional anesthesia THKR-2 Postoperative ambulation on the day of surgery THKR-3 Discharged to home THKR-4 Preoperative functional/health status…

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Editor's Note Hospitals with rectal cancer programs may now earn accreditation from the new National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), the American College of Surgeons (ACS) announced on June 21. NAPRC is based on successful international models that have resulted in better outcomes and emphasize a multidisciplinary team approach…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on June 21 a redesign of its Evidence of Standards Compliance (ESC) form. The form was redesigned to help organizations focus on describing the critical aspects of corrective actions they have taken to resolve Requirements for Improvement, and to help ensure sustainability of those…

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Editor's Note Revisions to the Life Safety (LS) and Environment of Care (EC) chapters for Behavioral Health Care, Laboratory, Nursing Care Centers, and Office-Based Surgery accreditation programs, based on adoption of the 2012 editions of the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 101: Life Safety Code and NFPA 99: Health Care…

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Editor's Note The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) on May 8 announced the release of its new Opioid Stewardship Toolkit to help providers review and assess the volume and length of opioid prescriptions and dosages to mitigate risk of patient overdose and death. AAAHC created the toolkit to…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on May 3 that accreditation programs for ambulatory care (85 fewer), behavioral healthcare (63 fewer), critical access hospitals (143 fewer), home care (65 fewer), laboratories (50 fewer), nursing care centers (59 fewer), and office-based surgery practices (50 fewer) will see fewer elements of performance…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 3 announced the creation of a new SAFER [Survey Analysis for Evaluating Risk] Matrix web portal for information and resources on the scoring methodology that went into effect on January 1. Among the portal features: A webinar and slide deck that discusses the…

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Editor's Note Center accreditation alone does not ensure high-quality care for bariatric surgical patients, this study finds. In this analysis of 145,527 patients across 165 bariatric centers of excellence, serious complication rates varied 17-fold at the national level and 2.1-fold at the state level. Complication rates varied at centers with…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 22 announced that recent changes had been made to simplify and streamline the accreditation post-survey process and decision rules. Among the changes: An organization with an accredited with follow-up decision will receive full accreditation once it has successfully submitted evidence of standards compliance.…

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What makes an OR subject to an immediate jeopardy finding from a Medicare inspection? Immediate jeopardy is cited when a provider’s noncompliance with one or more of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid’s (CMS) Conditions of Participation causes or is likely to cause serious injury, harm, impairment, or death.  …

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