Editor's Note The Joint Commission on October 21 issued a new Heads-Up Report on challenges that accredited organizations are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Report topics include: Hospital and critical access hospital emergency privileges Ambulatory healthcare competency assessments Behavioral healthcare identification of environmental risks for suicide Laboratory record keeping for…

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Editor's Note To provide flexibility to healthcare workers responding to the COVID-19 crisis, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) waived reporting requirements for healthcare associated infections (HAIs) through June 2020. Using the experience of hospitals in New York City and St Louis, Missouri, the authors provide commentary on…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced October 14 that, effective October 15, surveyors will evaluate the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reporting requirements for COVID-19 testing results in the Laboratory Accreditation Program. Surveyors will review documentation of COVID-19 test result reporting during the Regulatory Review session of an…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 30 announced a revision to its Environment of Care (EC) standard EC.02.04.03, element of performance (EP) 34, which will take effect January 1, 2021, for ambulatory care organizations, office based surgery practices, hospitals, and critical access hospitals. The Joint Commission has determined that…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 23 announced that it is seeking feedback on proposed requirements for its Advanced Certification in Spine Surgery. In collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Joint Commission developed the proposed spine surgery related requirements to include: program structure delivery of care…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced September 16 that it has been selected to provide Laboratory Accreditation Program services for the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). These services will be provided at VA Medical Centers and community-based outpatient clinics. Laboratories are accredited every 2 years by the Joint Commission.

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced September 9 that it has refreshed the Accelerate PI Dashboard Report data for accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals, and nursing care centers. The reports reflect the most recent and available external data from CMS’ Hospital Compare and Nursing Home Compare websites as well as…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced August 17 that it will resume routine inspections of all Medicare and Medicaid certified providers and suppliers. CMS suspended certain routine inspections as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic to prioritize infection control and immediate jeopardy situations…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August 12 released its sentinel event statistics for the first half of 2020. From January 1 through June 30, the Joint Commission reviewed 437 sentinel events. The most frequently reported events were in the following categories: Care management, 165 Surgical or invasive procedures, 131…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on July 22 that the 2019 Eisenberg Award winners were recognized in a virtual ceremony on July 16. The award is given each year by the National Quality Forum and Joint Commission in recognition of the best examples of individual, local, and national efforts…

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