Behavioral Healthcare Compliance for Accreditation and Regulatory Requirements: Updates and Resources
See behavioral healthcare compliance posts below from our recent newsletters and access our newsletter archive and behavioral healthcare industry links.
CMS Validation Survey: New Process Being Piloted
At the Consultants Forum meeting in Chicago, Joint Commission COO Mark Pelletier announced an interesting new approach TJC and CMS are piloting. It’s a concurrent validation survey process. This means CMS surveyors conduct their CMS validation survey at the same time...
Joint Commission Complaint Reporting: Time to Change Your Public Notice
The Joint Commission has changed its process for complaint reporting. Effective September 1, a Joint Commission employee will no longer answer the complaint line at TJC's Office of Quality and Patient Safety. Instead, there will be an automated message. Over the...
TJC Survey Outcomes: 2018 Trends
You just received the TJC survey report for your hospital. You have two Condition-Level Deficiencies, and you’re getting a follow-up survey in 45 days. Of course, you’ll develop your Joing Commission corrective action plans and implement the needed fixes. But your...
Joint Commission Surveys: High-Risk Areas
Did you know Dr. Mark Chassin, President and CEO of The Joint Commission, recently sent a letter to CEOs of accredited organizations about four areas surveyors will closely scrutinize during Joint Commission surveys? The June 19 letter identifies “four high-risk areas...
Closed Medical Records Reviews: TJC Survey Feedback
Joint Commission surveys of deemed status psychiatric hospitals include a session for B Tag Medical Record Reviews. In this session, surveyors review a sample of closed medical records to evaluate compliance with the CMS Special Medical Record Requirements for...
Joint Commission Nutrition Screening Requirements for Behavioral Healthcare Programs
Has your nutrition screening tool been updated to comply with the new 2018 Joint Commission requirements? Discover easy steps for compliance.
Joint Commission Puts Infection Control Issues High on Radar
Infection control issues are high on The Joint Commission’s radar these days. While psychiatric hospitals and behavioral health organizations admittedly do not have the same types of infection control challenges as med/surg hospitals, there are...
Trauma Assessment: Feedback from Recent Surveys
As we track survey results for our clients, we are seeing a recent trend related to trauma assessment and want to make you aware of it. The Joint Commission standard on trauma assessment is in the Behavioral Health manual. It’s standard CTS.02.02.05: "The organization...
The Joint Commission Suicide Risk Recommendation FAQs
In the July issue of The Joint Commission Perspectives, responses to frequently asked questions from the field were published, relating to the suicide risk recommendations issued over the past several months. Since we’ve received numerous questions from readers...
Ligature Risk Recommendations for Inpatient Detox Units
The Joint Commission recently clarified some of its recommendations regarding ligature risks in the hospital environment. In the July issue of TJC Perspectives, they published responses to a set of FAQs received from the field. Most of the responses are essentially clarifications of their initial recommendations published in November 2017. However, one clarification is particularly noteworthy. It relates to the requirements for inpatient detox units.