Editor's Note The Joint Commission on April 27 announced that Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, is the first hospital in the US to achieve its Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement. The certification recognizes that Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is committed to providing safe and efficient care…

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Editor's Note In today’s opioid epidemic, people are looking for a scapegoat, and often it is the Joint Commission’s pain standards that take the blame, says David W. Baker, MD, MPH, FACP, in response to an April 13 letter from five dozen nonprofit groups and medical experts laying out issues…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 30 posted the top requirements for accreditation identified most frequently as “not compliant” during surveys and reviews from January 1 through December 31, 2015. Among the most challenging: Granting initial, renewed, or revised clinical privileges to individuals who are permitted by law and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 21 approved a new National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) on catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) for accredited nursing care centers. Also approved were revisions for the existing CAUTI NPSG for accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals, which were made to bring the NPSG…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 16 announced that the new Patient Blood Management Certification Review Process Guide (2016) is now available. Contents include a description of activities that take place during an on-site certification review and tips to prepare for the review process.   Patient Blood Management Certification…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are collaborating on an initiative designed to adapt, enhance, and disseminated CDC guidelines on infection prevention in ambulatory health care settings. The initiative, “Adaptation and Dissemination of Outpatient Infection PrevenTion (ADOPT) Guidance,” will focus on free-standing…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on March 9 that the Michigan Health & Hospital Association and its member hospitals have partnered with the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare on a statewide high reliability organization improvement effort. Michigan is the second state to partner with the Center; South Carolina…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 2 issued an update of its sentinel event statistics through the end of 2015. Of the 936 sentinel events reviewed, the most frequently reported was unintended retention of a foreign body at 116 events, followed by wrong-patient, wrong-site, or wrong-procedure at 111. Operative/postoperative…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced February 24 that it has approved two new Human Resources requirements for accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals, and ambulatory care organizations that provide diagnostic imaging services. These requirements specify minimum qualifications for technologists who perform computed tomography exams. They will be available in the…

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Certain topics in OR Manager bear repeating, and high reliability is one example. The concept, put forth by the Joint Commission in 2013 to improve quality and safety of patient care, is slowly gaining traction as more facilities embrace its principles. Last March, we reported on high reliability practices at…

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