Q. The contracts that we have with health care organizations are frequently written by the health care organization, and as a result do not include all of the required elements that The Joint Commission certification requires. How can we meet the requirements when the health care organization will not modify the contract?
A. If the health care organization is unwilling to modify the language of the contract, the certified staffing firm may include the missing elements in an addendum to the contract which is sent to the health care organization. Transmission of the addendum to the health care organization should be documented. This will need to be done each time the contract is updated or renewed. The staffing firm should maintain verification of the addendum that the addendum was sent to the health care organization.