Joint Commission Launches Healthcare Violence Resource Center
The Joint Commission this month launched a digital resource center aimed at reducing workplace violence in healthcare settings.
CMS Gives $347M to Improve Patient Safety
In the last week of September, CMS gave $347 million to 16 different hospital associations, Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO), and health system organizations to continue efforts in reducing Medicare readmission and hospital-acquired conditions.
Lessons Learned In the Fallout of Virginia Mason’s Accreditation Struggles
A preliminary denial offers a stark reminder that even top-rated hospitals are not immune to survey deficiencies.
Using a Screening Program to Improve Suicide Prevention
Suicides were the third most common sentinel event of 2015, with 95 reported cases in 2015’s Sentinel Event Statistics. The total number of patient suicides reported to The Joint Commission is now up to 1,184 since the start of the decade.
Hospital Readmissions are Not the Enemy
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services has all but declared war on readmissions. But one researcher suggests that the relationship between readmission rates and quality is flawed.
CMS Finalizes New Emergency Preparedness Rule
CMS announced last week that it had finalized new emergency response requirements for healthcare providers participating in the Medicare or Medicaid system. The new rule comes as a response to a string of disasters, natural and mad-made, including the recent flooding in Louisiana.
New Resources Aim to Simplify Stewardship Implementation
A finalized Joint Commission standard, along with proposed CMS regulations, place more emphasis on program leadership and providing resources for measurement and action.
Joint Commission and CDC Team Up on Ambulatory Infection Prevention
The Joint Commission and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are working on a new initiative to improve infection control in ambulatory care settings. The Adaptation and Dissemination Outpatient Infection PrevenTion (ADOPT) project will promote existing CDC infection prevention (IP) guidance while also making updated and alterations.
Delay on Texting Ban Repeal
This spring, The Joint Commission reversed its ban on texting medical orders, citing critical improvements in the technology’s security. The accreditor has now announced it will delay the repeal until it can create additional guidance on appropriate texting policies, according to an article in the July issue of Joint Commission Perspectives. The Joint Commission and … Continued
MACRA Comment Period Ends With Burst of Feedback
Reaction to CMS’s proposed rule includes from MGMA that the proposal “provides almost no opportunities for medical groups to begin the shift away from fee-for-service reimbursement.”