Joint Commission to Release New SAG, Standard Revisions Effective July 1
The Joint Commission has updated several of its hospital accreditation standards, primarily related to last year’s long-awaited revisions to the CMS Conditions of Participation (CoP) on burden reduction and discharge planning.
AOs Ramping Up for Return to Accreditation Surveys
All four hospital accrediting organizations followed CMS in March in announcing a suspension of regular survey activity as the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation. Complaint surveys have continued as needed. And at the urging of CMS, were to continue to conduct initial accreditation surveys for new healthcare facilities as a way to increase patient capacity during the COVID-19 national emergency.
Verma Raps Accrediting Organizations’ ‘Glaring Conflict of Interest’
Delivering the opening remarks at the 2020 CMS Quality Conference in Washington, D.C., Verma said her agency is “looking at ways to enhance our oversight of accrediting organizations.”
OSHA Raises Its Civil Penalties for 2020 by Nearly 2%
For a willful violation, in which an employer knowingly failed to comply with an OSHA standard or demonstrated a plain indifference for employee safety, the minimum penalty increases from $9,472 to $9,639 and the maximum penalty increases from $132,598 to $134,937;
Hospitals Might Get Penalized by CMS for Serving Disadvantaged Patients
Researchers found that in an analysis of more than 3,600 hospitals across the country, those that provide care in neighborhoods with higher social risks achieved lower quality scores from CMS.
CMS Updates State Operations Manual
The updated Interpretive Guidelines for CMS surveyors includes most—but not all—of the new or revised Conditions of Participation for discharge planning and burden reduction outlined in two final rules published in September.
CMS Offers Training on New Electronic Form for Restraint-Related Deaths
CMS announced the new electronic form and provided instructions on how to use it, including a video, in a Quality, Safety & Oversight Group memo, on December 2.
Infection Control is Front and Center at Annual Joint Commission Session
Infection control dominated the day’s presentations, which also looked at expectations for sterile compounding, Legionella control, using personal protective equipment, medication management, lowering maternal death rates, and, of course, ligature risk and suicide prevention.
EPA Says There’s No Need for New Hazardous Spill Regs
In its final action, the EPA explains that new regulations are not necessary to regulate spills of hazardous substances (HS) because the “existing cumulative framework of regulatory requirements adequately serves to prevent and contain CWA HS discharges.”
Joint Commission Boosts Antimicrobial Stewardship, Falls Prevention Programs
This standard (MM.09.01.03) is not brand new—in fact, it is an extension of the original standard (MM.09.01.01), which has been in place since January 1, 2017. Most hospitals and nursing care centers have been under the original standard’s authority in an effort to curb antibiotic resistance in the U.S.