TJC’s Revised Workplace Violence Prevention Requirements Take Effect
On Jan. 1, 2022, revised workplace violence prevention standards from The Joint Commission (TJC) took effect.1,2 These revisions are in response to the continuous rise in healthcare workplace violence-related injuries over the past decade.
Although workplace violence has been widely discussed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue is nothing new to TJC, according to Kathryn Petrovic, director of the commission’s department of standards and survey methods.
“We have continually addressed workplace violence during various activities of the survey process, such as when assessing healthcare organizations’ incident reporting processes, during a healthcare organization’s emergency management plans, and when evaluating if organization leadership has created and maintained a culture of safety,” Petrovic explains.
Specifically, the revised standards address data collection and analysis, leadership oversight, training, and post-incident procedures. Recognizing incidents of workplace violence are underreported in healthcare, TJC created a comprehensive definition of workplace violence that should be incorporated into an organization’s policies and procedures. The glossary definition reads: “An act or threat occurring at the workplace that can include any of the following: verbal, nonverbal, written, or physical aggression; threatening, intimidating, harassing, or humiliating words or actions; bullying; sabotage; sexual harassment; physical assaults; or other behaviors of concern involving staff, licensed practitioners, patients, or visitors.”
This definition emphasizes the vast types of behaviors that contribute to the ongoing issue of workplace violence. “This will aid organizations to adopt a comprehensive reporting system and approach to reinforce a true safety culture necessary to eliminate or mitigate the risks of workplace violence,” Petrovic offers.
Additionally, hospitals are required to conduct an annual worksite analysis related to their workplace violence prevention programs. Leaders must identify existing or potential hazards that could cause problems.
“The analysis looks at the environmental factors along with the operations or activities that occur within that environment to identify potential risk,” Petrovic says.
Further, hospitals must establish processes for continually monitoring and investigating incidents involving injuries and damage related to violence. The best way to meet this standard, according to Petrovic, is to maintain an easily accessible reporting system and make it clear all staff can feel comfortable speaking up when abuse occurs.
Regarding training, the standards outline specific types of instruction that must be included in an organization’s workplace violence prevention program. Instruction must include information about what workplace violence is and details about how to report incidents. Training must include an explanation about the roles of external law enforcement, internal security staff, members of the clinical team, and leaders. Finally, staff must learn about de-escalation, nonphysical intervention skills, and physical intervention techniques and response to emergency incidents.
“The specific elements of each of these topics should be based upon the policies and procedures developed by the organization,” Petrovic says.
Prevention programs should be developed by a multidisciplinary team and led by a designated individual. Incidents must be reported to a governing body. There should be a process in place for follow-up after an episode to support affected victims and witnesses, including access to trauma and psychological counseling, if necessary.
REFERENCES
- The Joint Commission. Workplace violence prevention standards. June 18, 2021.
- The Joint Commission. Workplace violence prevention – New and revised requirements.
The revised standards address data collection and analysis, leadership oversight, training, and post-incident procedures. Recognizing incidents of workplace violence are underreported in healthcare, The Joint Commission created a comprehensive definition of workplace violence that should be incorporated into an organization’s policies and procedures.
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