This column informs you of developments and potential revisions that can affect your accreditation and tracks proposed changes before they are implemented. Items may drop off this list before the approval stage if they were rejected at some point in the process. (Reprinted from Perspectives®, September 2007)

JOINT COMMISSION FIELD REVIEW

Field review notifications are sent out electronically, as well as posted on The Joint
Commission Web site. If you would like to be added to the electronic notification list,
please contact the Division of Standards and Survey Methods at (630) 792-5912.

• Standards Improvement Initiative: Revised “Management of the Environment of Care” (EC) and “Medication Management” (MM) chapters for the ambulatory care, critical access hospital, hospital, home care, and office-based surgery programs

CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT

—STANDARDS—

• Development of an advanced Disease-Specific Care certification program for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Development of a Health Care Services Certification Program for services such as palliative care
• Comprehensive Standards Improvement Initiative encompassing the ambulatory care, critical access hospital, home care, hospital, and office based surgery programs
• Proposed revisions to “Medication Management” Standards MM.4.10 and MM.8.10 for the critical access hospital and hospital programs
• Potential 2009 National Patient Safety Goals
• Transplant Center Certification Program standards to recognize the unique care needs of solid organ (for example, kidney, liver, heart) transplant patients

IN DEVELOPMENT AT JCI

• International primary care standards
• Revisions to international ambulatory care standards
• Revisions to international disease-specific care certification standards
• Revisions to international laboratory standards to begin in 2008