Barrins Bulletin
April 2024
Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Health!
Dedicated Experts for Your Complex Accreditation and/or Regulatory Projects”
Starting July 1, 2024, The Joint Commission has updated workplace violence prevention standards for all Joint Commission-accredited Behavioral Health Care and Human Services (BHC & HS) organizations.
These updated standards offer a structured framework to assist BHC & HS organizations accredited by TJC, CARF, or COA, in formulating effective strategies for preventing workplace violence. They encompass the following key areas…
Congratulations to Montefiore Substance Abuse Treatment Program Units I & III for their successful Joint Commission triennial surveys!
Montefiore Health System is one of New York’s premier academic health systems. It is comprised of 10 hospitals and more than 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites. They are nationally recognized for their clinical excellence, including the care, treatment, and services it provides to individuals struggling with substance abuse. Montefiore offers a range of outpatient substance use treatment programs including Opioid Treatment Programs, Intensive Outpatient Programs, Group and individual counseling, Adolescent Treatment Program and Buprenorphine Treatment Programs.
Barrins & Associates was founded by Anne Barrins, a Joint Commission surveyor for 13 years and is succeeded by Julia Finken with a 17 year tenure from The Joint Commission as a surveyor, the Associate Director of Business Development for the Home Care Program, and Executive Director of Business Development for the Behavioral Health Care and Psychiatric Hospital Programs.
Are You Ready for Survey?
Our Survey Preparation and Continuous Readiness services are your best preparation. Contact Us today to be fully prepared for your next survey.
888-742-4621 x 702
Why Choose Us
“We are so appreciative of the opportunity to work with the Barrins consultants! Having been through various mock surveys over the years that only increased stress upon staff and were counterproductive to actual quality, I find myself saying on many occasions that the reason the surveys in which we engage with Barrins & Associates are so effective is absolutely all about our surveyors. Their collaborative approach makes for a truly interactive process while their unyielding commitment to the integrity of the survey and accountability to sound patient care helps us remain aware of our ultimate responsibility to those whom we serve. I know I speak for my entire team when I say that we ourselves enjoyed our time last week as well!”
A. Elaine Crnkovic, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare
TIP OF THE MONTH
Effective May 1, 2024, The Joint Commission is updating its Hospital System Tracers – Data Use, Infection Control, and Medication Management. These were prompted by changes suggested by TJC accredited organizations, surveyors, and the revision to the State Operations Manual published by CMS in March OSO-23-09.
Going forward, Infection Control (IC) and Medication Management (MM) systems will be evaluated in depth during individual tracers instead of during system tracer activities. A block of time during individual tracers will be dedicated to MM, whereas IC will be evaluated throughout the survey by all surveyors.
The Data Use System Tracer will remain in meeting format and will include performance improvement. This session has been renamed the Organization Quality and Performance Improvement (OQPI) System Tracer.
The Hospital Survey Activity Guide is available on the Joint Commissions website and each organization’s Joint Commission Connect extranet site.