Revised requirements for hospices align with CMS final rule

Effective July 1, 2024, The Joint Commission revised two elements of performance (EPs) and added two new terms to the glossary to align with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) final rule for hospices published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2023.

Human Resources (HR) Standard HR.01.01.01, EP 11, was revised to include marriage and family therapist (MFT) and mental health counselor (MHC) to the note listing terms defined in the glossary. In addition, Provision of Care, Treatment, and Services (PC) Standard PC.02.01.05, EP 6, was revised to add MFTs and MHCs to the list of individuals who establish an interdisciplinary group. The definitions for the following two terms have been added to the glossary:

marriage and family therapist (MFT) An individual who meets all the following criteria:

• Possesses a master’s or doctoral degree which qualifies for licensure or certification as an MFT under state law of the state in which such individual furnishes marriage and family therapist services
• After obtaining such a degree, has performed at least two years or 3,000 hours of post master’s degree clinical supervised experience in marriage and family therapy in an appropriate setting, such as a hospital, skilled nursing facility, private practice, or clinic
• Is licensed or certified as a marriage and family therapist by the state in which the services are performed

mental health counselor (MHC) An individual who meets all the following criteria:

• Possesses a master’s or doctoral degree which qualifies for licensure or certification as an MHC, clinical professional counselor, or professional counselor under state law of the state in which such individual furnishes MHC services
• After obtaining such a degree, has performed at least two years or 3,000 hours of post master’s degree clinical supervised experience in mental health counseling in an appropriate setting, such as a hospital, skilled nursing facility, private practice, or clinic
• Is licensed or certified as an MHC, clinical professional counselor, or professional counselor by the state in which the services are performed

The revised requirements are posted on the Prepublication Standards page of The Joint Commission’s website and will publish online in the fall 2024 E-dition^® update to the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Home Care (CAMHC). For those customers who purchase it, the 2025 hard copy CAMHC will include these revisions.

For more information, contact the Department of Standards and Survey Methods.