Archive for March, 2009

TJC March 2009 New and Revised Standard Changes

Thursday, March 26, 2009 the Joint Commission released revised 2009 Release of the Revised 2009 Accreditation Requirements for the Hospital Accreditation Program. This revision is in response to the 165 new and revised elements of performance released January 5, 2009, specifically developed to further align the Joint Commission with the CMS Conditions of Participation (due to the need to accomplish the deeming authority which TJC is looking to renew in July of 2010.) In an audio-conference the week of the March 26th, TJC clarified the March  document noting a reduction to 87 new and revised elements of performance, from the January release. This new March release and reduction to 87 elements of performance does not include the category of EP (neither category A nor C are listed), and whether the EP is scored as a direct impact (level 3) or non-direct impact (level 4) EP. How these will be scored will be forthcoming with no date provided by TJC at present, but take heart, once the determination is made, there will be yet another posting of the changes, this time with the scoring categories. [more]

Hold Off on Credentialing Changes!!

There are two versions of the 2009 CMS changes made by the Joint Commission: the version that was emailed on January 6 and the version currently posted at the Joint Commission web site. (It took us a very long time to find the posted version: it’s NOT under standards, it’s under “What’s New.” Go figure!)

The bottom line is that the changes to MS.13.01.01 that were in the January 6 email are not on the web. Is the change to MS.13.01.01 in? Is it out? Is it under discussion? We’ve asked the Joint Commission but they have not yet responded.

In the meantime: do not make any changes to the way you credential or privilege Nighthawk and other remote diagnostic-only practitioners! Wait for clarity from Oakbrook Terrace.

A Handful of New FAQs

Over the last month or so the Joint Commission posted a handful of new or revised frequently-asked questions or FAQs to help clarify expectations of the standards. You can find these under the “Standards” then “Standards FAQs” tab at the Joint Commission website (http://www.jointcommission.org). The following is a synopsis of the changes. (We encourage you to read the official FAQs for yourselves.) Overall, we found these limited revisions to be quite helpful and on target. [more]