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.
Is Your Sentinel Event Policy Up to Date?
During some recent consultations, we’ve noticed that some organizations haven’t updated their sentinel event policy to include all the current TJC requirements. So, the following is a recap of TJC requirements related to sentinel events.
Changes to TJC Accreditation Process for Psychiatric Hospitals
If you are a psychiatric hospital that uses TJC accreditation for deemed status, you probably received an email communication recently from TJC entitled “Important Update on The Joint Commission Accreditation Process for Psychiatric Hospitals.” This notification discusses some significant changes to survey reports, scoring, and the post-survey process for psychiatric hospitals. These changes were discussed at the Consultants Forum we recently attended at TJC and are now being communicated officially to the field. The following is a summary of the key changes that go into effect June 6, 2016 (only for psychiatric hospitals that use TJC accreditation for deemed status.)
Updates on TJC Topics of Interest
The scheduling of surveys and composition of survey teams are always topics of interest to our clients, so here are some updates in those areas. Also, be aware of the new Sentinel Event Alert on suicide risk assessment and treatment.
Oro 2.0 High Reliability Organizational Assessment
The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare recently made available the Oro 2.0 High Reliability Organizational Assessment. The assessment is an online tool designed to assist hospitals in evaluating their progress toward high reliability and support them in attaining the goal of zero patient harm. The web-based tool is available to accredited organizations on their Joint Commission Connect extranet site. The Oro 2.0 Assessment guides the leadership team through a series of questions on key strategic performance issues. It’s based on the High Reliability Maturity Model.
New Behavioral Health Care Standards for Permanent Housing Support Services
Effective July 1, 2016, TJC’s Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program will include standards for case management services provided to individuals being served in a Housing First program. The new standards are designed to assist individuals with serious mental illness, substance abuse disorders, and other behavioral healthcare issues. They are applicable only to TJC accredited behavioral healthcare organizations that provide case management services to for clients in a Housing First program.
New Requirements for Eating Disorder Programs
The Joint Commission has finalized new requirements for accredited behavioral health organizations that treat individuals with eating disorders. The new requirements go into effect July 1, 2016. They are the result of collaboration between the TJC Behavioral Health...
Responding to Changes in a Patient’s Condition
In working with our psychiatric hospital clients, we have noted a standard in the Hospital manual which sometimes gets overlooked. That standard is PC.02.01.19 in the Provision of Care chapter: “The hospital recognizes and responds to changes in a patient’s...
Not in the Top Ten Yet but Heads Up!
As the year winds down, we thought it would be useful to review the top compliance issues encountered by psychiatric hospitals and behavioral healthcare organizations in 2015. However, truth is that the Top Ten list hasn’t changed much and the topics are quite...
Psychiatric Hospitals: New Requirements for Clinical Alarm Management
Effective January 1, 2016 The National Patient Safety Goal on Alarm Management (NPSG.06.01.01) went into effect in January, 2014 for hospitals. TJC defines a clinical alarm as “A component of some medical devices that is designed to notify caregivers of an important...
Survey Strategy: Preparation of Documents
The Document Review session has always been a component of TJC surveys. Years ago, it meant the surveyors spent hours poring over documents and, consequently, less time out visiting programs and units. Once the tracer methodology came along, that emphasis shifted (thankfully) and now surveyors spend more time doing tracers and less time on Document Review. However, the materials that are assembled for the Document Review remain important for two reasons.