Behavioral Healthcare Compliance for TJC and CMS: Updates and Resources
See behavioral healthcare compliance posts below from our recent newsletters and access our newsletter archive and behavioral healthcare industry links.

Joint Commission Discharge Summary Review: Be Prepared
Joint Commission discharge summary reviews are a standard part of the survey agenda for both psychiatric hospitals and behavioral health organizations. Frequently, surveyors cite deficiencies in this area on the survey report. So, let’s review the key requirements to...

Joint Commission PI Standards: Data Collection Requirements
Recently, we covered the new Joint Commission PI requirements effective January 2022. We’re now seeing a clear uptick in the amount of attention surveyors are paying to this topic. Moreover, they’re issuing Requirements for Improvement in their survey reports. While...

Joint Commission Rights Standards: New Requirements
Heads up! The Joint Commission Rights standards have new requirements effective July 1, 2022. These new requirements are in both the Hospital and Behavioral Health Care & Human Services standards. So, that means they apply to both psychiatric hospitals and any programs TJC surveys under the Behavioral Health Care & Human Services standards …

Joint Commission Performance Improvement Standards 2022
Have you addressed the new Joint Commission Performance Improvement standards that went into effect January 1st? They’re in both the Hospital manual and the Behavioral Health Care & Human Services manual. If not, now’s the time to do so. These new PI requirements...

Joint Commission COVID-19 Staff Vaccination Standard
Be aware! There’s a new Joint Commission COVID-19 staff vaccination standard effective July 1, 2022. The new standard is in the Infection Control chapter: IC.02.04.02. This Joint Commission standard mirrors the recent CMS COVID-19 staff vaccination requirements which...

Preliminary Denial of Accreditation: How to Respond
Your Joint Commission survey ended 10 days ago. TJC just posted your final report. The decision is Preliminary Denial of Accreditation (PDA.) Not what you were hoping for. So, what exactly does PDA mean? And, equally important, what should you do next? The good news:...

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...

Virtual Joint Commission Surveys Continue for BH Accreditation
In the Behavioral Health Care and Human Services Accreditation Program, virtual Joint Commission surveys are on the rise. At this point, many of our clients have undergone virtual surveys. So, we checked in with them to see what their experience was like. We’re...

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...