TJC & CMS News Blog
Information for BH Organizations
To read articles written prior to January 2015, please view our Newsletter Archive.
TJC Proposed Standards for Eating Disorder Programs
The Joint Commission has published proposed standards for accredited behavioral health organizations providing services to individuals with eating disorders. The proposed standards are the result of collaboration between the TJC Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program and leaders of several prominent eating disorder programs throughout the country. These proposed standards are posted on the TJC website and TJC is eliciting feedback from the field through August 17.
Refresher on Waived Testing Requirements
We still sometimes see organizations (both psychiatric hospitals and behavioral health organizations) receiving TJC survey findings related to waived testing. So, this month, we are recapping the requirements for waived testing and answering some frequently asked...
Life Events Checklist Trauma Assessment
As discussed in previous articles, the TJC Behavioral Health standards have a specific standard in the Care, Treatment, and Services chapter on trauma assessment. It is standard CTS.02.02.05 (added in 2011): “The organization identifies individuals served who may have experienced trauma, abuse, neglect, or exploitation.”
TJC Top Standards Compliance for 2014
The April issue of TJC Perspectives has the Top 10 compliance issues for all programs including hospitals and behavioral health organizations. There are no surprises here. For hospitals, once again, the majority of findings are in the Life Safety and Environment of Care chapters.
Preventing Copy-and-Paste Errors in EHRs
TJC now publishes Quick Safety. It’s a brief informational posting on patient safety issues. Issue 10 has an article that’s relevant as many organizations transition to an electronic health record. The topic is the practice of “copying and pasting” in EHRs.
A Look at a Suicide Prevention Tracer
For a few years now, TJC surveyors have been conducting suicide prevention tracers when applicable to the setting they are surveying. This is known as a “program specific tracer.” We recently had a client that had this type of tracer during their survey and thought it would be helpful to share their impressions.
New BH Human Resource Standards
The standards in the new Human Resources Management chapter in the 2015 Behavioral Health Care manual went into effect on January 1. Since then, many behavioral health organizations have been reviewing the new standards and their own HR processes to make sure they are compliant and also to see if they can simplify some of those processes. We’ve received some questions from readers and have provided some clarification to these issues.
Patient Safety: Evaluating your Organization’s Culture
The standard is LD.03.01.01 Element requires leaders to “regularly evaluate the culture of safety and quality.” With this standard, TJC is emphasizing that the culture within an organization directly impacts the safety and quality of care provided.
New Sentinel Event Chapter
Be aware that TJC has revised its Sentinel Event Policy and the Sentinel Event chapter in both the Hospital and Behavioral Health manuals. The revisions were effective January 1, 2015. While the essential components of the Sentinel Event Policy have not changed, there are some new terms and definitions that are important.
TJC Behavioral Health Home Certification
Another highlight of the Annual Behavioral Health Care Conference in Chicago last week was the presentation on TJC's new Behavioral Health Home Certification. Several BH organizations have achieved this exciting new certification option! So, here's some information to...