Author: Christopher Pratt, MS, BSN, HACP-CMS, Senior Consultant & Accredited Provider Program Director
Key CMS Survey Topics for 2022
New and revised survey topics from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) took effect in January 2022. You should expect survey teams to include these topics during the review of your facility.
Mock Surveys: Determining Your Regulatory Alignment
Have you considered the benefits a mock survey can provide to help your team identify risk areas and opportunities for improvement? A mock survey is an excellent way to check your alignment with regulatory requirements and ensure your survey readiness.
Rights and Responsibilities (RI) Chapter Update- Just Released
The Rights and Responsibilities of the Individual (RI) chapter updates were just released by the Joint Commission. These updates go into effect on July 1, 2022.
Why Treatment Planning Is Critical For Patient Care
Titrating medications is the process of adjusting medication dosage for maximum benefit without adverse side effects. It can be a fine line to walk
Titration Orders: The Key To Safe Medication Management
Titrating intravenous medications is the process of adjusting medication dosage for maximum benefit without inducing adverse side effects. It can be a fine line to walk, but when staff follow clearly defined parameters through well-crafted titration orders, it can be performed with a high degree of safety and ensure that your practice is aligned with […]
Glucometer Infection Control Practices
The Joint Commission is Returning to Pre-Pandemic Survey Procedures
As of March 15, 2021, The Joint Commission will be reverting back to pre-pandemic survey procedures in light of reduced cases of COVID-19 across the U.S. according to a message that was sent by Mark Pelletier, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nurse Executive of The Joint Commission today. This return to pre-pandemic survey procedures means […]
How to Keep Your Code Carts from Crashing and Burning
Being ready for situations where your patient requires resuscitation is critical. Staff complete training in basic/advanced life support, and some staff complete more advanced skills in pediatric and neonatal resuscitation, as appropriate. There has been increased focus on drills and simulation to better prepare the team in these life-saving measures. However, has anyone looked at […]
Are Your Freezer/Refrigerator Logs Giving You Frostbite?
Ensuring that you store medications, food items, lab specimens, blood, and other items and supplies at appropriate temperatures in cold storage is essential to ensure your patients receive safe and effective product. However, maintaining a record of these temperature measurements seem to confound a lot of organizations out there. We frequently observe incomplete refrigerator/freezer logs […]
Have We Crossed Over the Quality Chasm or Are We Hanging Mid-Air?
In November 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published their landmark report on the medical error crisis in U.S. healthcare called To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System. This was followed in March 2001 with an IOM report on healthcare quality called Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st […]
Suicide Prevention – Are You Addressing the Risk?
January 2021 marks eighteen months since changes were initiated with more focus on NPSG 15.01.01, Reducing the risk of suicide. The changes in focus were in response to devastating statistics showing a trend of increasing rates of suicide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports, in […]