Healthcare organizations looking to improve the quality and safety of their care in 2024 should check out the January issue of Chicago Medicine magazine. Joint Commission Enterprise President and CEO Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, MSHA, MACP, FACMI, provides expert insight into some of today’s biggest healthcare challenges, including healthcare equity, environmental sustainability, artificial intelligence (AI) and more.
Notably, Dr. Perlin is the first and only individual physician to be featured on the publication’s cover. Chicago Medicine is a publication of the Chicago Medical Society.
The Joint Commission would like to remind accredited organizations about the following new or revised requirements that became effective Jan. 1, 2024.
- New, voluntary Sustainable Healthcare Certification (SHC) program to advance decarbonization in healthcare, applicable to all Joint Commission-accredited critical access hospitals and hospitals and non-Joint Commission-accredited critical access hospitals and hospitals that comply with applicable federal laws. See E-dition® or the October 2023 issue of Perspectives.
- Revised Medication Compounding (MC) chapter for home care organizations and Medication Compounding Certification program to align with US Pharmacopeia (USP) revisions for medication compounding. See E-dition or the July 2023 issue of Perspectives.
- Updated Medication Management (MM) and National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) requirements related to medication compounding for critical access hospitals and hospitals to better align with national standards of practice while continuing to align with regulation and CMS guidance. See E-dition or the September 2023 issue of Perspectives.
- Revised hospital requirements to align with changes made in response to the critical access hospital deeming renewal application, including new elements of performance (EPs) that address the expectation for compliance with the Life Safety Code® (NFPA 101-2012) and Health Care Facilities Code (NFPA 99-2012). Also, revisions to the Environment of Care (EC) chapter, removing references to alternative equipment maintenance (AEM) programs and manufacturer’s recommendations from the requirements for equipment maintenance. See E-dition or the September 2023 issue of Perspectives.
- New and revised requirements for the advanced disease-specific care Acute Stroke Ready, Primary Stroke Center, Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center, and Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification programs to help hospitals improve safety and the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with stroke. See E-dition or the July 2023 issue of Perspectives.
- Revised requirements for the advanced disease-specific care Heart Failure Certification program to align with the latest clinical practice guidelines for heart failure. See E-dition® or the July 2023 issue of Perspectives.
Register now for an Expert to Expert webinar, “2024 New Measure Review – Opioid Related Adverse Events eCQM,” on Jan. 25, 2024 (noon Eastern; 11 a.m. Central; 10 a.m. Mountain; 9 a.m. Pacific). This 75-minute webinar will address the new Opioid Related Adverse Events (ORAE) eCQM. Questions from JIRA and other sources will be addressed. Additionally, participants will be invited to submit questions for response by subject matter experts during a live Q&A segment.
The learning objectives of the webinar are:
- 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 ORAE eCQM.
- Prepare to implement the ORAE eCQM for the 2024 eCQM reporting period.
- Identify common issues and questions regarding the ORAE eCQM.
Slides will be available for download from within the webinar platform approximately one hour before the broadcast begins.
Expert to Expert webinars are approved for continuing education (CE) credit from Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and California Board of Registered Nursing. CE credits are available for live broadcasts only; credits are not offered for webinar replays.
See The Joint Commission’s continuing education policies for more information.
A free, on-demand Pioneers in Quality webinar is available through Feb. 9, 2024, to introduce The Joint Commission’s new Sustainable Healthcare Certification requirements. The new program became effective Jan. 1, 2024, and evaluates whether hospitals and critical access hospitals have established and implemented key structures and processes to improve energy efficiency, decrease their carbon footprint, and decrease waste.
The framework of this new certification requires hospitals to:
- Identify environmental sustainability and decarbonization as a strategic priority and allocate the resources needed to achieve and sustain its goals to improve its environmental footprint by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.
- Measure greenhouse gas emissions and develop goals and action plans to reduce emissions.
The webinar introduces each standard and element of performance, offers examples for how they would be applied and highlights resources available to assist organizations wishing to adopt these sustainable practices and requirements.
See The Joint Commission’s continuing education policies for more information.
Healthcare leaders know the facts. Nearly 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States come from its healthcare sector. In addition, not everyone is equally at risk from the effects of climate change. The individuals least able to compensate for its effects are those already burdened with adverse social determinants of health, making decarbonization an imperative for improving healthcare equity and patient safety.
However, knowing that decarbonization is an imperative is one thing – and having the tools and the business case to make significant changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and further sustainability is another.
Read the entire blog, “Making the business case for sustainable healthcare,” by Kathryn Petrovic, MSN, RN, director of the Department of Standards and Survey Methods.