News Briefs
News briefs
JCAHO manuals sport new look, new options
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) will debut a new look and new options for home care organizations preparing for survey.
The 2001-2002 Comprehensive Accreditations Manual for Home Care will be divided into two main sections covering common standards that apply to all home care agencies and segment-specific standards. The second section will examine the four main services covered under the Home Care Accreditation Program: home health (including personal care and support services), hospice, pharmacy, and home medical equipment (including clinical respiratory and rehabilitation technology).
Additionally, for the first time, JCAHO is offering segment-specific manuals, which will be available in October. The manuals, which have been rewritten in a clearer, more concise style, show only two additional standards for 2001 — pain management (across all segments) and bereavement (hospice only).
Other changes include streamlined, segment-specific standard intent statements; more consistent scoring systems for both common and segment-specific standards; the division of the accreditation decision grid into sections that are common to all home care organizations and those that are segment-specific; and a new "Compliance Tips" section that will replace the "Examples of Implementations."
JCAHO develops standards for office surgery
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has developed a set of draft standards expressly for the accreditation of office-based surgery practices. The draft standards were developed in consultation with practitioners in the field, national health care organizations, and industry experts, says Linda Kelley Peterson, executive director of the Joint Commission’s Am-bulatory Care Accreditation Program.
The office-based standards focus on six essential patient care areas: quality of care, patient safety, improving care and improving health, qualified and competent staff, responsible leadership, and customer service. Although the 2000-2001 Compre-hensive Accreditation Manual for Ambulatory Care (CAMAC) is applicable to small office-based surgery practices, Peterson says feedback has indicated that the comprehensive nature of the manual can be overwhelming to small settings.
In response, the Joint Commission reviewed the CAMAC and consulted with practitioners. Earlier this year, the Joint Commission’s Ambulatory Care Users Group made recommendations on the draft standards and survey process for office-based surgery practices. The standards went into effect Nov. 1.
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.