By nature, health care professionals like to regularly take stock of what their organization does well and where they need to improve. A fine place to mine for new ideas and a fresh viewpoint is at a seminar or conference such as the Disease Specific Care Fall Conference, to be held Wednesday, Sept. 26, in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
Sessions tackle such topics as assessing your return-on-investment; using performance measurement to support and grow your program; and implementing disease self-management strategies. Further information about the program and registration details are included in the Resources section.
Health care professionals aren’t the only ones who want to do things better. In the interest of improvement, we are conducting a readership survey of DSC Update readers. During this past year, we made a number of changes as we transitioned to The Joint Commission’s new brand. So, we want you to tell us: Are we getting better? Are we missing the mark? Are we providing you with the information you need? Take the survey. The survey is open until October 15, 2007. We’ll share the results with you in the next issue.
Jean Range, MS, RN, CPHQ
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Effective January 1, 2008, all Joint Commission certified primary stroke centers will be required to collect and report data on all 10 measures of the standardized set of performance measures (see below). Currently, certified primary stroke centers are required to collect data on the first four measures of this set.
“We’ve been phasing in the measures since 2004,” explains Ann Watt, associate director, Quality Measurement & Research. “We found that most primary stroke centers collected data on the entire set of 10, so the new requirements shouldn’t be a hardship. As a bonus, the measures have been revised and ‘harmonized.’
“Harmonized means that the measures and their specifications are aligned with the American Stroke Association’s ‘Get with the Guidelines-Stroke’ and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry,” Watt says. “In the revised measures, primary stroke centers will find that the level of detail is more specific and the requirements are more clear.”
Complete measure specifications are included in the revised Stroke Performance Measure Implementation Guide, 2nd Edition.
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Standardized measures for primary stroke centers |
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis
- Discharged on antithrombotics
- Patients with atrial fibrillation receiving anticoagulation therapy
- Thrombolytic therapy administered
- Antithrombotic therapy by end of hospital day two
- Discharged on cholesterol reducing medication
- Dysphagia screening
- Stroke education
- Smoking cessation/advice/counseling
- Assessed for rehabilitation
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Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., has been appointed to lead The Joint Commission as its next president, effective January 1, 2008.
Chassin is the Edmond A. Guggenheim professor of health policy and chairman of the Department of Health Policy at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, and executive vice president for Excellence in Patient Care at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, he served as commissioner of the New York State Department of Health. He is a board-certified internist and practiced emergency medicine for 12 years.
Dennis S. O’Leary, M.D., who has led The Joint Commission for the past 21 years, will become President Emeritus on January 1, 2008.
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The Joint Commission has officially implemented its certification program for hospitals that perform ventricular assist device surgery as destination therapy. VADs were originally used on a short-term basis to support failing hearts until donor hearts became available. Now these devices are used as a destination ― or long term ― therapy in severe heart failure patients who are not candidates for heart transplantation.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will reimburse for VAD surgery when it is performed at Joint Commission certified organizations. Programs that are currently Medicare-approved have until March 27, 2009 to become VAD certified by The Joint Commission.
The VAD standards were developed in consultation with an external expert task force and reviewed through a public comment period. For more information about the VAD Certification Program, contact Liz Calderon at (630)792-5291 or DSCinfo@jointcommission.org.
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Q. My certified disease-specific care program is part of a Joint Commission accredited hospital. Can I rely on the hospital’s efforts to comply with the National Patient Safety Goals?
A. No. Certified programs are responsible for compliance with their specific standards and NPSGs as defined on the Disease-Specific Care Certification web page. If you are part of a larger organization that is accredited, such as a hospital, it is possible that you are in compliance. However, the NPSGs for DSC certification are not identical to the NPSGs for hospital accreditation. You will be required to demonstrate compliance with all of the applicable goals to maintain your certification.
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There are no major additions to the 2008 Disease-Specific Care National Patient Safety Goals. However, the Requirement related to hand hygiene has been modified to allow for the use of the World Health Organization (WHO) Hand Hygiene Guidelines as an alternative to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
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- Ernest Amory Codman Award ― given by The Joint Commission to recognize excellence in performance measurement. The 2008 application for the Codman award will be available in mid-November. For more information, click here or call, Teena Wilson at twilson@jointcommission.org or (630) 792-5562.
- Franklin Award of Distinction ― given by the American Case Management Association and The Joint Commission to recognize an exceptional hospital/health system case management service. The 2008 application is available at www.acmaweb.org. The deadline for entry is November 30, 2007.
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The Disease Management Association of America recently thanked The Joint Commission for “its support and contribution to the voice of care coordination in today’s health policy arena.” The Joint Commission has been a member of DMAA since 2006. Jean Range, executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification Program, is a member of the DMAA Outcomes Steering Committee; and Ann Watt, associate director, Quality Measurement & Research, serves on the Outcomes Steering Committee and the Patient Safety Committee.
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We want your feedback about DSC Update and what we can do to improve its value and usefulness. Take the survey.
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Members of the DSC staff attend meetings and conferences throughout the year. In 2007 we’ll be at:
- Disease Management Association of America, Las Vegas, Nev., Sept. 16-19
- Inpatient Glycemic Control Program, Vancouver, Wash., October 11-12
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For information or to order products from Joint Commission Resources, Inc., go to www.jcrinc.com/Infomart.htm or call (877) 223-6866.
Education
NEW! Disease-Specific Care Fall Conference
Sept. 26, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
This conference packs a lot of information into a day-long event. Participants will learn to:
- Build a business case to initiate a disease-specific care program.
- Help clients adopt self-management techniques.
- Evaluate and use performance measures.
2007 Disease-Specific Care Certification Workshop
Covers the DSC certification process, standards, clinical practice guidelines, and performance measurement expectations.
Sept. 19, Garden Grove, Calif.
Publications
Disease-Specific Care Certification Manual
Order code: DSCC02SJ, $75
Disease-Specific Care Certification Toolkit
Helps DSC programs prepare for Joint Commission certification, comply with standards, collect and analyze data, and effectively use outcomes measures to improve care.
Order code: DSCD03SJ, $60
Know Your Rights
This new Speak Up™ patient safety brochure has questions and answers to help patients find out about their rights and make better decisions about their care.
Order code: SPKBRKYR-07, $25 for pack of 100
Acting Locally: Working in Clinical Microsystems CD-ROM
Discusses microsystem-based improvement efforts, including leadership, culture, patient focus, staff focus, patient safety, performance improvement and information technology.
Order code: WCM06SJ, $60
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- DSC Certification (630) 792-5291
- Standards Interpretation Group (630) 792-5900
- DSC Account Representative (630) 792-3007
- Customer Service (630) 792-5800
- Pricing Unit (630) 792-5115
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