COVID Vaccinations Officially Not Required
CMS issued a final rule May 31 officially rescinding the regulatory requirement to vaccinate healthcare staff in hospitals and other health organizations against the COVID-19 virus.
CMS Restarting Pilot Project Putting Agency Surveyors Side-by-Side with AO Teams
Surveyors from CMS could start appearing along with survey teams from each accrediting organization (AO) as the federal agency resumes its full AO validation survey program. All non-emergent validation surveys were suspended when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down almost all surveys nationwide.
CMS Investigates Two Hospitals Who Refused Woman an Abortion
According to news reports, the woman was told by doctors at the hospitals in Kansas and Missouri that she faced sepsis and possible loss of her uterus but could not get an abortion in either state because of recently passed laws.
COVID-19 Vaccines Requirements to End May 11 Along With PHE
CMS is ending a requirement that all hospital providers and suppliers be vaccinated against COVID-19 as of the end of the public health emergency (PHE) on May 11, according to new guidance issued on May 1.
Counting Will Resume for Minimums for Ventricular Assist Device Procedures at End of PHE
For hospitals with cardiac programs that include performing ventricular assist device (VAD) implants, The Joint Commission offers the reminder that as of May 12, 2023, CMS will resume monitoring the number of procedures done by the VAD team as part of determining coverage under Medicare.
Healthcare Workplace Violence Legislation Introduced in Congress
The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Worker Act was introduced by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT). The bill has bipartisan backing in the House of Representatives, with support from Don Bacon (R-NE), Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
Quick Safety 69: Preventing Burns from Laparoscopy and Arthroscopy
On April 10, The Joint Commission published Quick Safety Issue 69: Preventing light source-related burns from laparoscopy and arthroscopy. Both arthroscopy and laparoscopy are done by inserting a narrow tube and fiber-optic camera into a small incision. For the camera to see anything in the incision, there needs to be adequate lighting, either using lamps or light cables.
Joint Commission Proposes Standard to Tackle Hospital Impact on Climate Change
Hospitals may soon have to measure energy use, fleet vehicle gas consumption, solid waste disposal, and other measures under proposed climate change standards by The Joint Commission (TJC), which puts responsibility not only on leadership but also “clinical and facility representatives.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 74 – The Quality Roadmap for Ambulatory Health Organizations
On episode 74 of PSQH: The Podcast, Julie Lynch, Director of the AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement, talks about how ambulatory health organizations are faring on AAAHC surveys. This episode is presented as part of Patient Safety Awareness Week and is sponsored by GoJo, the makers of Purell; IAC, Nuance, and Origami Risk.
Joint Commission’s Psychiatric Hospital Accreditation Program Approved for Another 6 Years
CMS required the accrediting organization to increase training of its surveyors, as well as make other procedural changes, to ensure TJC was aligned with the federal agency’s oversight of psychiatric hospitals, according to an announcement in the Federal Register, scheduled to be published on February 27.