In June 2022, the White House issued a report stating that the United States is facing a maternal health crisis. The Joint Commission has been actively working to help address the myriad and complex causes of maternal mortality and morbidity.
A new issue of Sentinel Event Alert delves into eliminating barriers and racial disparities causing mortality and morbidity in pregnant and postpartum patients, while a new, complementary issue of Quick Safety addresses mental health conditions and their role in maternal death.
The U.S. has the highest mortality rate for pregnant and postpartum patients among developed countries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics, that rate increased by 18% in 2020 – from 20.1 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019 to 23.8 in 2020. In 2020, 861 pregnant or postpartum patients died from pregnancy-related causes in the U.S. compared to 754 in 2019. A prepandemic report from Maternal Mortality Review Committees conducting a thorough review of pregnancy-related deaths in 36 U.S. states determined that 80% of them were preventable.
Read more — including actions The Joint Commission asks organizations to consider — in Sentinel Event Alert, Issue 66: Eliminating racial and ethnic disparities causing mortality and morbidity in pregnant and postpartum patients.
Additionally, a recent report from the CDC evaluating causes for maternal death indicated issues related to mental health, such as depression, anxiety, death by suicide, and substance use disorders (SUDs) as the most frequent underlying cause, followed by clinical conditions. This finding signals the need for health care organizations to have a process to screen all pregnant patients for risk factors using evidence-based tools so that appropriate interventions may be instituted in a timely and ongoing manner.
Learn more — including safety actions to consider — in Quick Safety, Issue 67: Mental health conditions leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths.
Now is the time to make plans to attend the second annual Patient-Centered Medical Home Health Equity Technical Assistance Symposium (PHETAS). The virtual event — hosted by The Joint Commission, in partnership with Joint Commission Resources (JCR), for the Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) — highlights innovations in health equity.
The symposium is scheduled for March 29-30, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.
Participants will have the opportunity to hear about and discuss best practices and lessons learned from peers and experts in the fields of health equity, quality improvement, and accreditation and recognition. The event will have four tracks to choose from:
- Behavioral health
- Chronic disease management
- Maternal and children’s health
- Climate change and environmental health
Register to attend or learn more about how to present at the symposium.
A new episode of the Take 5 with The Joint Commission podcast features one of the recipients of the 2022 Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity — NYC Health + Hospitals.
The Tyson Award, in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, recognizes healthcare organizations and their partners that led initiatives that achieved a measurable, sustained reduction in one or more healthcare disparities. It was named after the late Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO, who was a champion for healthcare equity.
Dr. Jonathan Jimenez, executive director of NYC Care, was interviewed in the episode — answering questions about NYC Health + Hospital’s initiative to expand access to healthcare to undocumented New Yorkers and others who are ineligible for or cannot afford healthcare.
Listen to Take 5. [10:42] Dr. Jimenez also authored a blog post on NYC Care and lessons learned.
Register now for two upcoming free Pioneers in Quality Expert to Expert webinars. The webinars are on the 2023 annual updates. The series provides a deep dive into measure intent, logic, and other clinical/technical aspects of electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) to assist hospitals to improve data use for quality improvement.
The webinar series incorporates content from The Joint Commission, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Mathematica, and other measure stewards. The sessions will include a live Q&A segment and recordings and presentation slides will be available through the webinar platform. Continuing Education (CE) credit is available, but only for those participating during the live broadcasts.
The webinars are on:
- Jan. 24 — Hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia eCQMs
- Feb. 16 — Safe use of opioids – concurrent prescribing eCQM
The sessions’ learning objectives are to:
- Navigate the eCQI Resource Center website to locate measure specifications, value sets, measure flow diagrams and technical release notes.
- Apply concepts learned about the logic and intent for the eCQMs.
- Prepare to implement the eCQMs for the 2023 eCQM reporting period.
- Identify common issues and questions regarding the eCQMs.
To earn 1 CE credit, participants must:
- Individually register for a webinar.
- Attend the entire live broadcast.
- Complete a post-program evaluation/attestation. A survey link will be sent to the participant’s registered email after the webinar.
The Joint Commission is hosting a webinar on cybersecurity tabletop exercises with speakers from the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at 2 p.m. ET on Jan. 31.
Topics covered will include:
- The importance of cybersecurity response and tabletop exercises as part of emergency planning.
- How to conduct exercises, including the necessary tools and likely scenarios to consider.
- Lessons learned for healthcare organizations, such as how to leverage existing emergency preparedness plans for cyber incidents and major cyber threats targeting the healthcare sector.
Presenters at the event will include:
- Margaret VanAmringe, MHS, Executive Vice President, Public Policy and Government Relations, The Joint Commission
- Kin Lee, MBA, MS, Chief Digital and Information Officer and Information Security Officer, The Joint Commission
- John Riggi, National Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk, AHA
- Representatives from CISA and CMS
Each year, the Healthcare Quality Foundation awards grants to individuals looking to enhance their professional development by earning the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) certification. Apply by Jan. 31 for the opportunity to be selected.
The “2023 Joint Commission and CMS Crosswalk” is now available from Joint Commission Resources.
The 2023 Crosswalk will aid hospitals and psychiatric hospitals preparing for a deemed status survey to ensure compliance with the latest regulatory requirements of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and most up-to-date accreditation requirements of The Joint Commission.
Key features of this year’s Crosswalk include:
- Authoritative, side-by-side comparison of Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs) to equivalent Joint Commission standards, for both hospitals and psychiatric hospitals.
- Reverse crosswalk listing Joint Commission hospital and psychiatric hospital requirements with comparable CoP numbers, showing equivalencies in the opposite direction — something not found anywhere else.
- A summary of CMS changes affecting hospitals over the past year.
Purchase the 2023 Crosswalk.