Briefings on Accreditation and Quality, February 1, 2019
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BY A.J. PLUNKETT (APLUNKETT@DECISIONHEALTH.COM)
Make sure your staff knows and implements your policy on continuous observation of suicidal patients, check and recheck that air pressures are appropriate to the room, update infection control procedures to the latest recommendations, and be prepared for surprise surveys.
Hospitals are reporting that surveyors from The Joint Commission (TJC) and other accrediting organizations (AO) are showing up days to months early, a likely response to increasing pressure from CMS to get stricter on patient safety.
In turn, the increasing pressure from CMS is a response to media criticism and a Senate subcommittee investigation into whether AOs are doing their jobs well enough. And in the latest indication of increased scrutiny, CMS in December asked for public comment on whether AOs have sufficient barricades to conflicts of interest created by related consulting services, a direct result of the Senate investigation.
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