Barrins Bulletin
August 2024
Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Health!
As summer winds down, students return to school, vacations become cherished memories, and providers prepare to ramp up to full capacity. This is a time of significant transition, which often brings challenges not only for clients, but also for us and our staff. Psychiatric hospitals and behavioral health organizations may face an increased demand for services and your team may struggle with burnout and reintegration, all while still being expected to manage the trials and tribulations of remaining compliant and continuing to deliver high-quality care.
This issue is designed to support you by offering clear, straightforward regulatory and accreditation updates along with practical tips to help navigate these evolving difficulties smoothly. We will uncover creative strategies for making learning and competency development more engaging and enjoyable, so that staying informed becomes less of a task and more of an opportunity to grow.
We hope this edition eases both your mind and your workload, so keep reading for insights that can lighten the load and even bring a little fun to your compliance journey.
As always, we appreciate your input. Please take a moment to share your comments and let us know your thoughts. We welcome suggestions for any topics you would like to see covered in future newsletters, and eagerly anticipate hearing from you! Don’t hesitate to forward this to your colleagues; their opinions are invaluable to us as well.
Best Regards,
Assessing staff competencies in psychiatric hospitals and Behavioral Health Care & Human Services organizations is essential for ensuring quality patient care and maintaining high standards across the board. However, the traditional methods of evaluation can often feel tedious and uninspiring for staff. By rethinking and revamping healthcare competency assessments, organizations can transform them into…
In the complex and rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare, the role of the board or governing body is more critical than ever. These boards are the strategic stewards of healthcare organizations, tasked with ensuring that healthcare organizations not only survive but thrive in delivering high-quality patient care. A high-performing governing board is integral…
We recently consulted The Joint Commission’s (TJC) standards interpretation group regarding the texting of medication orders. Specifically, we asked: “Is it acceptable for a provider to text an order via a secure messaging app, with the nurse then entering that order into the electronic medical record (EMR), similar to a telephone order?”
TJC’s clear response, aligning with CMS’ guidance, was: “This would not be acceptable. The secure texting platform (STP) must be integrated into the electronic medical record system.”
While this requirement enhances safety in the use of texted medication orders, it may limit the number of EMR platforms that comply with this standard. Since this clarification is not yet posted as a public FAQ, we recommend that readers verify their EMR and secure texting platform’s integration capabilities before adopting the use of texted medication orders.
We were founded by Anne Barrins, former Joint Commission surveyor, and are succeeded by Julia Finken, former Joint Commission surveyor, 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.
Congratulations Corner
We applaud our clients who have recently and successfully completed their Joint Commission Behavioral Health and Human Services Accreditation Survey. The achievement of such indicates an aptitude for quality and safety of care.
Congratulations to your organization and staff!
Uptown Lifestyles
Montefiore Medical Center Wellness Centers, at Waters Place, Port Morris, and Melrose.
New-Psych
LionRock Recovery
MaineHealth Spring Harbor Hospital
Welcome New Clients!
Barrins and Associates welcomes the following new clients:
Side by Side: Serving the behavioral and mental health needs of more than 2,500 youths and their families in six programs across Alameda, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties in California.
Franciscan Children’s: Providing compassionate, personalized, family focused care and education for children with special health care needs; helping each child find the courage to reach their full potential with integrity and respect.
Metropolitan Hospital Center: A behavioral health center of excellence providing comprehensive inpatient and outpatient mental health services to individuals with emotional, psychiatric, behavioral, or chemical dependency issues.
Sonora Behavioral Health: Treating adults, adolescents, and children in crisis situations across a broad scope of programs. Services provided include inpatient hospitalization for crisis stabilization, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient programs.
Why Choose Us
“Our consultant was excellent in getting his points across in ways that helped us to understand we really needed to pay attention. He catches both those finer points as well as broad systemic concerns and is great at pulling them together in a way that makes sense. He also was helpful in reaching directly out to JC to answer some sticky questions.”
Susan R. Niemitz, LCSW
CEO
Capitol Region Mental Health Center, DMHAS
Hartford, CT
Are You Survey Ready?
At Barrins & Associates we can assist you to achieve and sustain accreditation and regulatory compliance in adherence to the TJC, DNV, CHIQ, ACHC, CARF, COA, and CMS standards for psychiatric hospitals and community behavioral health and human services providers.
Inquire today about how we can support your journey.