TJC & CMS News Blog Information
for Hospitals and Behavioral Healthcare
To read articles written prior to January 2015, please view our Newsletter Archive.
Joint Commission Surveys Getting Back on Schedule
Be prepared! Joint Commission surveys are getting back on schedule. The pandemic is easing up in many counties across the country. As a result, TJC is catching up on surveys. Joint Commission Surveys: Current Status TJC is catching up on triennial surveys in all...
Joint Commission Grievance Review: New Survey Session
Heads up! There’s a new session on the Hospital survey agenda in 2022. It’s the Joint Commission Grievance Review session. So, let’s take a look at what’s involved and how you can best prepare. Joint Commission Grievance Review: What’s Included? First, the surveyors...
CMS COVID-19 Staff Vaccination Requirements
As an Accrediting Organization (AO) for CMS, TJC is now surveying deemed status organizations for compliance with the CMS COVID-19 staff vaccination requirements. Specifically, TJC is surveying to the CMS Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination interim final...
NPSG 15 Suicide Prevention: Training & Competency Requirements
As we know, compliance with TJC’s National Patient Safety Goal 15 on Suicide Prevention continues to be a challenge for many organizations. Survey findings related to inadequate suicide risk assessment abound. But what about the requirements for training and...
Joint Commission 2022 Standards: What’s New?
The New Year has arrived! So, are you all squared away with the Joint Commission 2022 standards effective 1/1/22? Now’s the time for a final check to be sure you’re fully compliant with the new 2022 requirements. Experience tells us when a new year kicks in, surveyors...
Joint Commission Fire Drill Requirement: Vary the Timing
An important Joint Commission fire drill requirement is you must vary the timing of your drills. Seems simple, right? Surprisingly, many organizations overlook this requirement. As a result, they get a finding on their survey. So, let’s review what’s needed to be in...
Joint Commission Tailored Surveys
Does TJC accredit your organization under more than one accreditation manual? If so, that means you get a Joint Commission “tailored survey.” In a tailored survey, TJC applies standards from different accreditation manuals based on your services and settings. For...
New TJC Performance Improvement Requirements
Get Ready! Effective January 1, 2022, new TJC Performance Improvement Requirements go into effect. They’ll be in both the Hospital Standards PI chapter and the Behavioral Health Standards PI chapter. The new TJC Performance Improvement Requirements essentially “raise the bar” on what TJC expects to see in your Performance Improvement program. So, let’s take a look at the details …
New TJC Workplace Violence Prevention Requirements
Get Ready! Effective January 1, 2022, new TJC Workplace Violence Prevention Requirements go into effect. They apply to all TJC accredited hospitals. Currently, the requirements don’t apply to organizations accredited under the Behavioral Health Care standards. However, we recommend these organizations also review the new requirements to see what best practices they may want to adopt …
Boarding Psychiatric Patients in the ED: Joint Commission Recommendations
Boarding psychiatric patients in the Emergency Department is recognized as a significant problem nationwide. Technically, “boarding” is the process of holding an admitted patient in the ED while waiting for an inpatient bed. Best Practices for Boarding Psychiatric...