Archive for September, 2009
The Joint Commission promised us additional details on the 2010 NPSG changes in the October Perspectives, and they weren’t kidding—a hefty 32 page version of Perspectives with a complete overview of the new changes is available online here.
Also discusses changes to IC.02.02.01, an article on changes to the culture of customer service, details on “CMS update” changes related to deemed status application, changes to the accreditation survey finding report (details covered at Executive Briefings), and more.
Also, the pre-pub standards were posted to the Joint Commission site last night. Pre-pub standards can be found here.
From the looks of things, the October Perspectives extravaganza is intended as the official summary/clarification of the pre-pub standards. A lot of interesting stuff in this edition!
Executive Briefings: NPSG info
Just wanted to share the following list–it’s the latest breakdown on which National Patient Safety Goals are being incorporated into the standards, which are deleted in 2010, and which remain the same:
Changes to the NPSGs
Retained as goals:
- NPSG.01.01.01, two identifiers
- NPSG.01.03.01, transfusion ID
- NPSG.02.03.01, critical results
- NPSG.03.04.01, medication labeling
- NPSG.03.05.01, anticoagulant therapy
- NPSG.07.01.01, hand hygiene
- NPSG.07.03.01, multi-drug resistant organisms
- NPSG.07.04.01, central line infections
- NPSG.07.05.01, surgical site infections
- NPSG.15.01.01, suicide prevention
- Universal Protocol
Integrated completely into the standards:
- NPSG.02.02.01, approved abbreviations
- NPSG.03.03.01, look-alike/sound-alike drugs
- NPSG.09.02.01, patient falls
- NPSG.16.01.01, early response to emergent conditions
Some requirements deleted, others incorporated into the standards:
- NPSG.02.02.01, read-back requirements
- NPSG.02.05.01, handoff communication
- NPSG.13.01.01, patient involvement in care
Executive Briefings
Just wanted to share some highlights from the New York Executive Briefings session–possibly the most interesting Executive Briefings I’ve had the opportunity to attend. Lots of intriguing changes on their way from The Joint Commission soon.
* Refocusing surveyors. Ann Scott Blouin, PhD, RN, executive vice president of accreditation and certification operations, told the audience that The Joint Commission has refocused its 500 hospital surveyors to balance their roles as both evaluators and educators/coaches/mentors. According to Blouin, this was received as an invigorating change by “95%” of the surveyors.
* Adaptation. The Joint Commission is using Lean, Six Sigma, and “change acceleration” to change its own culture. According to Blouin, there is a new focus on customer service and simplification of processes. The Joint Commission has also changed its tactics on criticality–now only direct impact Requirements for Improvement affect accreditation decisions.
They have also made a concerted effort to reduce costs. And, as was discussed earlier this year, there are no more automatic thresholds–there is “no magic tipping point,” said Blouin.
*The Joint Commission has promised to improve the time frame in which hospitals receive their post-survey reports. A recent study within the organization found that hospitals were on average receiving their reports 16.4 days after survey, with massive fluctuations in those time frames–despite a requirement that hospitals receive this report within ten days of their survey (not a ten day average). A new process has been developed reducing the time to develop the report from 38 hours to 4.4 hours and the average time frame to receive the report down to 5.4 days.
* Periodic Performance Review–The Joint Commission is examining changes and enhancements to the PPR based on feedback from the field that the dates of submission are not working.
Okay, more to follow in a bit about the Executive Briefings coverage of the National Patient Safety Goals!
Joint Commission launches Center for Transforming Healthcare
The Joint Commission announced a new effort to address the nation’s biggest issues in terms of quality care and patient safety yesterday when it launched the Center for Transforming Healthcare. At the crux of the Center’s approach to improving patient safety is using Lean and Six Sigma to improve processes and address some of the challenges facing caregivers and patients. It hopes to offer specific guidance on how to solve issues like preventing healthcare-acquired infection, ensuring medication safety, coordinating safe patient handoffs, and focusing on surgical safety.
This not-for-profit has coordinated with some of the nation’s leading health systems to work on some of the above mentioned issues. You can find the full list by clicking here.
I did find it useful to know that starting midway through 2010, hospitals that are Joint Commission-accredited will be able to utilize an application on the site that will work with each facility individually to develop custom solutions.
Executive Briefings
Just wanted to remind everyone that AHAP will be blogging and Tweeting from Executive Briefings in New York on Friday. Stay tuned for updates here, and also check us out on Twitter at AHAPdirector. Word out of the Chicago Briefings have been interesting–we’ll have a full report for you right here.
And as I’ve mentioned here and elsewhere–if you’re going to the New York Executive Briefings, let me know! I’d love the chance to say hello to AHAP members face to face while in town.
AHAP at Executive Briefings?
We’re always curious how well-attended Executive Briefings is by our members. Did you attend yesterday’s Rosemont, IL Briefings, or plan on attending in NYC, Dallas, or LA?
If you were in Rosemont yesterday–was there any news that jumped out at you? We’ve been receiving reports that it was a particularly informative session this year. If you’d like to share your thoughts, you can post below or feel free to email me at mphillion@hcpro.com.
If you’ll be in attendance at the New York Briefings, let me know at the email address above–I’ll be there as well and would love the opportunity to meet with some of our members local to the area!
