The Joint Commission officially announced its new Disease-Specific Care Program for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management in November, which coincided with COPD Awareness Month. This new certification program was developed in collaboration with the American Lung Association. It recognizes exceptional efforts to foster better management and outcomes for COPD patients. See the article.
Your CEO should have already received a free copy of the new 2008 Disease-Specific Care Certification Manual. The revisions to the manual were based on feedback from the Disease-Specific Care Advisory Council, Joint Commission reviewers, and providers. If your organization has not received its copy, please contact your account representative at (630) 792-3007.
The recently completed readership survey shows that the DSC Update is doing many things right. Look for changes in the coming issues as we implement your suggestions for improvement. If you have ideas for articles you’d like to see in this newsletter, please e-mail them to Pamela Schumacher, DSC Update editor, at pschumacher@jointcommission.org.
Jean Range
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The Joint Commission launched a new program for organizations interested in achieving certification for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD refers to two lung diseases, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, that interfere with normal breathing.
The new certification program was developed in collaboration with the American Lung Association. The program focuses on promoting successful efforts in COPD management through:
- A standardized method of delivering or coordinating care.
- Implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.
- A comprehensive performance improvement program which uses outcomes data to continually enhance existing treatment plans and clinical practices.
- Clinical practices that support patient’s self-management activities.
“This certification recognizes organizations that make exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for COPD patients,” says Jean Range, MS, RN, CPHQ, executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification. “Certification is the best signal to the community that the quality of care provided is effectively managed to meet the unique and specialized needs of COPD patients.”
"When health care professionals focus on the whole patient and apply best practices, patients have the best outcomes," said Bernadette Toomey, president and chief executive officer of the American Lung Association. "We hope that this program will decrease the burden of COPD and improve the quality of life for patients and their families."
For more information about the COPD certification program, call (630) 792-5291 or e-mail us at dscinfo@jointcommission.org.
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Certified disease-specific care programs will transition to subscription billing starting in January 2008. Subscription billing involves annual invoicing at a base rate and an additional fee to cover on-site review costs.
“Subscription billing allows organizations to spread certification costs over the entire certification cycle,” explains Jean Range, executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification. “The typical disease-specific care organization can expect the annual fee to be approximately 15-20 percent of the total costs of certification, while the on-site fee will cost approximately 60-70 percent of the total cost of certification.”
Payment schedule
Beginning in 2008, the annual fee will be generated every year in early January to the organization’s secure extranet site on The Joint Commission Connect.
The on-site fee invoice is generated approximately seven to 10 days after the review’s completion and is due in that year. This fee covers all review-related costs the year in which the on-site review is conducted, including airfare, lodging, meals, car rental, and all other fees required to send the certification team to your organization.
As part of the transition to subscription billing, organizations entered into a new certification contract. The contract outlines the services The Joint Commission provides to certified programs and consists mostly of the Terms of Agreement that were previously contained in the Application for Certification. The certification contract was also posted on The Joint Commission Connect. If your organization has not completed it, you should do so immediately.
For more information
For additional information and to find out what your specific fees will be, contact the Joint Commission’s Pricing Unit at (630) 792-5115 or PricingUnit@jointcommission.org.
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Caroline Isbey, RN, MSN, CDE, is the new associate director for the Disease-Specific Care Certification Program. Previously, she was director of Clinical Operations with Healthways, Inc., in Nashville, Tenn. She received bachelor and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
Why did you want to work at The Joint Commission?
As a person living with diabetes, I am passionate about helping all diabetes programs achieve a high standard of care.
What did you do at your previous job?
I assisted and supported clinical diabetes programs in more than 40 hospitals. I created, reviewed, and edited the clinical support materials which are used in the diabetes programs. I also assisted in the development of a new statistical database which supported the achievement of recognition from the American Diabetes Association.
What do you bring to this position?
Working in a corporate office gave me a broad perspective on the health care system. I helped two of our hospitals achieve diabetes certification. I think my ability to understand how the certification process promotes high quality patient care while benefiting the bottom line will be particularly beneficial.
When should people call you?
Call me if you have any questions about Joint Commission certification. I’ll be happy to help. Isbey can be reached at (630) 792-5279 or cisbey@jointcommission.org.
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Expect to see more articles about complying with specific standards, survey preparation and standards updates in upcoming issues of DSC Update, says Jean Range, executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification Program.
Of the 546 respondents to the recent readership survey, 65 percent were from Joint Commission certified organizations. Eighty-five percent always or sometimes read each issue. The standards Q&A columns are generally the most well-read at 89 percent, followed by feature articles at 87 percent and the Newsline column with 85 percent of respondents reading them frequently or occasionally.
Article length was right on with 92 percent of respondents saying that feature articles were about right, 88 of respondents liking the length of Q&A articles, and 90 percent liking the length of Newsline feature.
In the open response section, people said they would like to see more examples of how to meet the standards in innovative ways; case studies; and how to prepare for initial surveys.
“We’re pleased that DSC Update is well regarded by its readers,” says Range. “We are planning to implement improvements based on this feedback in upcoming issues.”
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The American Heart Association Spotlight Series is a new program offering free presentations on the prevention of cardiovascular disease. The topics will be delivered by local AHA speakers during your organization’s grand rounds. The first four topics are:
- Blood pressure management
- CVD prevention guidelines and application to clinical practice
- Lifestyle, supplements and aspirin recommendations
- Lipids, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome
To schedule a talk for your organization or, for more information, go to www.spotlight.heart.org.
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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.
Publications
NEW! 2008 Disease-Specific Care Certification Manual
Effective January 1, 2008, the new manual includes:
- Integration of the Advanced Disease-Specific Care Certification requirements with consensus-based national core requirements.
- Revised language to clarify standards and elements of performance.
- Re-ordered standards and EPs to follow a more logical flow.
- A self-assessment scoring grids provided in the margins so certified programs can continuously identify program performance.
Order code: DSCC-03, $100
The new manual can also be customized with setting-specific advance program requirements. In addition to the base manual which contains standards and elements of performance that are necessary for certification compliance, the advance program components contain additional requirements that are specific to your advance program setting. Available for $15 each, they include:
Chronic Kidney Disease, order code: CKD-07
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Order Code: COPD-07
Inpatient Diabetes Care: Order Code: IDC-07
Lung Volume Reduction: Order Code: LVR-07
Primary Stroke Center: Order Code: DPSC-07
Ventricular Assist Device: Order Code: VAD-07
Or purchase the Deluxe Package that includes the base manual plus all six setting-specific components.
Order Code: DCDLX-07, $175
Education
2008 Disease-Specific Care Certification Workshop
Covers the DSC certification process, standards, clinical practice guidelines, and performance measurement expectations.
- June 3, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
- October 21, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
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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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