The Joint Commission (TJC) recently released answers to many common questions about the correct storage, use, and disposal of multi-dose vials in clinical settings. While this information will settle several uncertainties, achieving compliance may still be a challenge.
While regulatory standards govern the appropriate use of syringes and sharps, no specific regulations require that syringes be totally absent in any location. The lack of regulations about the location of sharps does not, however, remove the hospital’s responsibility for safeguarding sharps and syringes.
Compass Clinical Consulting’s Practice Leader for Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance, Ruth Elzer, RN, MS, will be speaking at seminars across the country this summer. Check out the following events for the most recent information regarding compliance with the standards of The Joint Commission (TJC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Since The Joint Commission’s MS.1.20 Implementation Task Force was convened in December 2007, the group has been working to define which aspects of the management of the Medical Staff need to be written specifically into the bylaws, and which items can be adopted through rules, regulations and related documents. The recently announced changes to the MS.01.01.01 standard include a few modifications that will come as a surprise to some hospitals and require action before the March 31, 2011, effective date.
Parts I and II of this series outlined two tools for risk assessment and how each can assist in evaluating the impact of potential risks within a hospital. This installment will focus on Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This tool can be used to examine an event and its component parts to discover weaknesses and decrease the likelihood that they will occur.
How can hospitals ensure that patients, employees, and visitors are safe in an environment rife with its own unique risks? The solution begins with risk assessment. This installment of our three-part series on risk assessment will describe the approach and tools that accompany simple risk assessment.
So you heard that the survey process was unchanged for 2010. Not so fast. As it turns out, The Joint Commission’s (TJC) 2010 Survey Guide subtlety outlines a survey process that holds some surprises for the new year. The latest surprise includes a new challenge for hospitals, the requirement to develop an agenda with surveyors minutes before the survey begins.
The idea of a hospital near-death experience might sound a bit strange. What would cause a hospital to “die,” and how could it “come back to life?”
Increasing the awareness of HACs and their impact on patients and the hospital is an important step toward focusing on HAC risk reduction. As Halloween approaches, consider adopting a “Haunted Ward” for in-service education.
The news from the Joint Commission’s Hospital Executive Briefings is always a mixed bag of information. This year is no different. Hospitals surveyed as part of a healthcare system, though, should brace themselves for a big change.
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