Katharine Graham had it right when she said, “To love what you do and feel that it matters—how could anything be more fun?”
After almost 14 years as head of the Home Care Accreditation Program, I am stepping down from my position. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my tenure at The Joint Commission and will continue to support and advocate for accreditation as a framework of excellence for home care organizations—in a part-time capacity.
I am proud of the accomplishments completed during my years here. We launched new programs and accreditation options, re-wrote the standards to be more relevant and applicable to the home setting, and overhauled the survey process to focus on the care patients receive at home—and not just on paperwork. Be assured, The Joint Commission will continue to enhance the relevance of home care accreditation. A number of innovations are already in the pipeline including the Standards Improvement Initiative and DMEPOS accreditation.
A warm thank you to all the home care professionals I’ve met and worked with over the years. Thank you for providing The Joint Commission with your thoughts and suggestions. Your compassion and dedication to providing excellent care have been inspiring.
Maryanne L. Popovich, R.N., M.P.H.
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To enhance the value of accreditation,The Joint Commission launched the Standards Improvement Initiative. The goal of this initiative is to make standards clearer, more objective and more applicable to different accreditation programs. The manuals will also be reorganized and easier to navigate. Improvements are targeted to go into effect January 2009 for home care organizations.
Field input is a critical component of the initiative’s success. The Joint Commission has conducted focus groups of both accredited and non-accredited home care organizations to identify improvements in the Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of Infection, Improving Organization Performance, and Management of Information standards.
The SII Home Care program teams currently are reviewing the Medication Management and Environment of Care chapters.
A conference call on SII was held May 9 for accredited home care organizations. If you were unable to attend, you can listen to a free playback of the call. A transcript will be available the week of May 21.
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Thanks to three new program-specific tracers, home care organizations can use tracer methodology to identify potential problems and make care safer for their patients. These tracers focus on issues relevant to home care providers:
- Equipment/supply management tracer evaluates how HME organizations process equipment and supplies from initial receipt to decommissioning.
- Fall reduction tracer examines how an organization providing hospice care, HME services, home health or personal care evaluates a patient’s risk for falls and the action taken to reduce the risk of falling for a high risk patient.
- Hospital readmission tracer looks at the action a Medicare-certified home health organization takes to reduce the hospital readmission rate, and the accuracy of medication reconciliation and education.
For details, review the November 2006 issue of Joint Commission Perspectives.
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The Quality Check® search engine has been enhanced to include a search by health care service in addition to searches by organization name and location. Some of the pre-defined services that can be selected for search are dialysis, home medical equipment and occupational health. An organization’s service profile comes from the Application for Survey.
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Joint Commission Resources is hosting a one-day program for nonaccredited DME organizations to help them better understand the new Medicare requirement and how Joint Commission accreditation can help them meet the Quality Standards.
All providers of Durable Medical Equipment (DMEPOS) who wish to participate in the Medicare Program must meet Quality standards by January 2010. As of January 2007, the program is being phased in at 10 selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and expanding to 80 selected MSAs in January 2009. The program will be held:
- June 15, Ontario (Riverside County), Calif.
- July 13, Atlanta, Ga.
For more information, or to register, visit http://www.jcrinc.com/.
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The Joint Commission recently unveiled its new branding initiative with an abbreviated name and a redesigned logo. Specific changes include:
- The name has been shortened to The Joint Commission
- New logos for The Joint Commission, Joint Commission Resources, Joint Commission International, and the International Center for Patient Safety
- New Gold Seal of Approval™
- Website redesign
- The “Jayco” extranet renamed “The Joint Commission Connect” New branding initiative
- Online Publicity Kit updated with the new Gold Seal of Approval TM.
- HomeCare Bulletin redesign
- E-mail extensions have changed to "@jointcommission.org"
“These changes and our new brand reflect The Joint Commission’s emphasis on non-hospital programs,” says Bob Floro, senior executive director, Home Care Accreditation Program.
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The Joint Commission’s team of DME professionals is hosting complimentary breakfast briefings for DME organizations that are not yet accredited. The briefings run through June throughout the country. For location and registration information, visit The Joint Commission website.
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Beginning March 1, 2007, information about Joint Commission scheduled events will now be posted at 7:30 a.m. in your organization’s local time zone on The Joint Commission Connect extranet. The change affects all accredited organizations within the continental United States and its territories. For organizations outside of these locations, notifications will continue to be posted by 7 a.m. Eastern time.
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Home Care: Accreditation Essentials
June 5-6, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
Sept. 17-18, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
HME Leaders Retreat
Oct. 24-26, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
Nov. 28-30, Phoenix, Ariz.
Home Care Leaders Retreat
Oct. 22-24, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
Nov. 28-30, Phoenix, Ariz.
To register, visit Joint Commission Resources at www.jcrinc.com, or call toll-free (877) 223-6866.
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At the December 2005 Midyear Clinical Meeting of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Darryl Rich, PharmD, a surveyor for The Joint Commission, gave a presentation on updates to the Joint Commission standards. At the conclusion of his prepared remarks, Dr. Rich was asked a question about USP 797. Although the question was outside the scope of Dr. Rich's remarks, and indeed, his area of expertise, he answered the question based upon information he received outside of The Joint Commission on USP 797 and its impact on barrier isolators. Unfortunately, Dr. Rich's statements were inaccurate and his response misleading, and he sincerely regrets any confusion it has caused to health system pharmacists and others, including manufacturers of barrier isolators that meet the ISO Class 5 air quality standards.
The sole responsible entity for USP 797 and its interpretation is United States Pharmacopeia ("USP"). According to Susan de Mars, USP's Chief Legal Counsel, USP 797 (2004) does not require a positive pressure barrier isolator that provides at least ISO Class 5 quality of air to be operated within a clean room.
Darryl Rich, PharmD, is a valued employee of The Joint Commission. One function The Joint Commission provides is to disseminate accurate information on health care issues. The Joint Commission believes that Dr. Rich has always attempted to satisfy this function.
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Richard Cornwell
Account Executive
(630) 792-5294 or
rcornwell@jointcommission.org
Account Representative
(630) 792-3700
Standards Interpretation Group
(630) 792-5900
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