The Source Blog

The Source blog features news and insight from Janet Pimentel, Executive Editor for The Joint Commission: The Source newsletter. This blog gives readers an opportunity to give their feedback about the newsletter and voice their opinions on the accreditation compliance issues discussed in the blog and in print.

Field Review Postponed for Revised Medication Reconciliation Requirement

• 2/11/2010
• Author: Janet Pimentel
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Those of you interested in commenting on the revised Medication Reconciliation National Patient Safety Goal, also known as NPSG.08.01.01, will need to wait just a little while longer. The Joint Commission originally planned to post this revised NPSG in February so health care organizations could share their opinions, but has decided to postpone it so an advisory board and board committee can revie... more >>

Smoke-free Campus Trend Growing

• 2/1/2010
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 1571 Views
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I don’t know if you heard, but a Joint Commission-accredited hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee has decided to stop hiring workers who smoke. The hospital has been a smoke-free campus since around 2008, but hospital leaders decided to implement a smoker-free hiring policy beginning this month (February) because they think a hospital should set a healthy example for its community. The new rule won’... more >>

New Survey Agenda Process Allows Flexibility

• 1/25/2010
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 2109 Views
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I don’t know if you’ve heard yet, but The Joint Commission is implementing a new approach for developing the agenda for on-site surveys that is more customer friendly. The survey agenda will still look similar to what it has been in the past; no survey activities are changing. The major change is that The Joint Commission will inform organizations before their survey about the survey length and th... more >>

H1N1 Forum Gaining Momentum

• 1/19/2010
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 2504 Views
• 2 Comments
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I’m impressed with the comments that have already been posted on the H1N1 electronic forum that The Joint Commission launched in mid-December. In case you haven’t heard, the January 2010 issue of The Source had an article about how this new forum was established for health care organizations to freely exchange information about challenges associated with the H1N1 pandemic and the seasonal flu. Thi... more >>

Staff Vaccinations Important to Patients

• 1/8/2010
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 2872 Views
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Happy 2010! I hope your new year has started better than mine. I had the stomach flu for five days over the holidays and ended up visiting my doctor. I’m pleased to note that the nurse who collected my latest medical information and took my temperature wore an “I got my flu shot. Did you?” button. I felt relieved that she received her flu vaccination and wore evidence to let me and others know. ... more >>

Feedback Wanted on Effective Working Relationships

• 12/22/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 3785 Views
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Joint Commission accredited organizations that want clearer direction on the relationship between medical staff and hospital leaders will be interested in reviewing the latest draft of Standard MS.01.01.01 (formerly known as MS.1.20). This draft standard was posted for field review December 17 on The Joint Commission’s Web site and has some significant improvement over the June 2007 version of Sta... more >>

White Paper Clarifies Leadership Expectations

• 12/11/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 4605 Views
• 2 Comments
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A few times a year I work at the Publications booth at JCR conferences and I am always asked which books on the table contain more information about the Leadership standards. Those of you interested in more guidance on this topic will be happy to know that The Joint Commission recently published a free white paper titled, “Leadership in Healthcare Organizations: A Guide to Joint Commission Leaders... more >>

E-dition Compliance Monitor Provides Special Resource for Hospitals

• 11/19/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 5814 Views
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Guest blog by Michelle McDonald, RN, MPH, Product Manager Healthcare Software, Joint Commission Resources Prior to working for JCR, I was the Vice President of Clinical Affairs and was responsible for maintaining regulatory requirements for various healthcare programs within a large healthcare system. For sometime now, healthcare organizations have stated that they wish there was a tool... more >>

More Clarification about Sterilizing Equipment

• 10/22/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 7540 Views
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In late August I wrote a blog about The Joint Commission’s latest statement regarding steam sterilization. Questions from the field have prompted The Joint Commission to provide more clarification and specific direction for the requirements for Standard IC.02.02.01, which addresses reducing the risks associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies. Organizations will notice the clarificat... more >>

Making the Most of Your HR Processes

• 10/9/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 8093 Views
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One of the most challenging standards for hospitals right now is HR.01.02.05, which requires hospitals to verify staff qualifications. About 25% of hospitals surveyed during the first six months of this year have received Requirements for Improvement for this standard, according to data from The Joint Commission. One of the reasons that many hospitals are struggling with this requirement and simil... more >>

Clarifying Steam Sterilization Requirements

• 8/27/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 10758 Views
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Standard IC.02.02.01, EP 2 requires organizations to implement infection prevention and control activities when sterilizing medical equipment, devices, and supplies. However, many health care organizations are unsure of the appropriate way to clean, disinfect, and sterilize the equipment, devices, and supplies. As a result, The Joint Commission recently issued a statement about steam steriliza... more >>

Joint Commission Ventures Into Social Media

• 8/5/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 10784 Views
• 1 Comments
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Don’t be surprised if more of your patients understand what The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal hanging in your lobby means or if patients ask you questions about whether you are an accredited organization. The Joint Commission has a video posted on social media site YouTube called “A World of Difference” that discusses its mission to work behind the scenes with health care organizations to ensure th... more >>

Proposed Requirements to Advance Communication

• 7/23/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 11707 Views
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Anyone with loved ones who are learning English or have a hearing or speech problem knows how difficult it can be for that person to communicate well with a doctor or nurse. My grandfather spoke only Spanish and always needed someone to accompany him to the doctor’s office to make sure his thoughts and symptoms were communicated properly. Something so simple to us was terrifying for him to do by h... more >>

Linking Vaccinations to a Required Activity

• 7/16/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 11914 Views
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In 2007, The Joint Commission implemented a new standard in hospitals and long term care facilities requiring that influenza vaccinations be offered to staff and licensed independent practitioners.  For the hospital program, I’m referring specifically to Standard IC.02.04.01 and for the long term care program I’m referring to IC.4.15.  These requirements include organizations annually evaluati... more >>

Thanks for the Feedback

• 6/26/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 12331 Views
• 2 Comments
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I enjoyed talking with many of you at the JCR Publications table at the recent Joint Commission Accreditation Summit. I also appreciated how many of you saw my nametag and acknowledged that I am the new editor for The Source newsletter. Your recognition and kind words about the new monthly features, especially Tracer Methodology 101, means more than you know. Some of you were also kind eno... more >>

CMS-Related Requirements Reduced

• 3/26/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 17302 Views
• 2 Comments
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Good news for accredited hospitals that use Joint Commission accreditation for deemed status! The Joint Commission has been able to significantly reduce the number of new and revised standards and elements of performance as part of its hospital deeming application to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Back in January 2009, The Joint Commission posted 165 new and re... more >>

Wanted: Voices From The Field

• 3/5/2009
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 17988 Views
• 2 Comments
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Hello again. I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted a new blog, but we’ve been making some Web site enhancements to better serve you. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking and it occurred to me that I’ve learned a lot from my peers over the last 20 years. While working as a crime reporter for daily newspapers, my peers taught me how to get a stubborn police chief to comment on ... more >>

Look Forward To Change

• 12/12/2008
• Author: Janet Pimentel
• 23061 Views
• 7 Comments
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My godfather often joins me for coffee and shares pearls of wisdom in a calm, raspy voice kind of like Don Corleone. (The Godfather is my favorite movie, by the way!) The best advice I've received from him lately is that change isn't a bad thing. It's an opportunity for growth, to try something different, to see routine things through a new perspective. Right after that late-summer... more >>

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