Workforce safety has gained more attention in recent years as the incidence has risen and impacts workforce wellbeing and patient safety. A feature article in the November issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety (JQPS) reports on the results of a cross-sectional, prospective survey conducted in 2021 showing that over 78% of anesthesiologist assistants, certified registered nurse anesthetists, physicians, and registered nurses report some form of workplace violence, almost 37% witnessed physical workplace violence, and almost 70% experienced nonphysical workplace violence.
Conducted by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, the survey also reveals that fewer than half of the respondents experiencing nonphysical workplace violence felt that the “situation was addressed and resolved to their satisfaction.”
While legal and regulatory organizational requirements related to workplace violence are broadening – including updated Joint Commission standards – the incidence of workplace violence is rising in healthcare, impacting patient safety and clinician well-being. The study authors discuss that the high prevalence of workplace violence signals a call to action, and they point to The Joint Commission standards as a framework for organizations, and particularly for leadership, to use to make progress.
Effective Jan. 1, 2025, The Joint Commission has new and revised requirements for laboratories that align with revisions to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) regulations:
- Updated histocompatibility requirements in the “Quality System Assessment for Nonwaived Testing” (QSA) chapter of the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Laboratories and Point-of-Care Testing (CAMLAB). There are six new and revised standards and 11 new and revised elements of performance (EPs) for Standards QSA.12.01.01 through QSA.12.06.01; Standard QSA.12.07.01 has been deleted.
- Developed three new EPs to address the updated personnel requirements. A complete list of all personnel qualifications is included at 42 CFR 493 Subpart M: Personnel for Nonwaived Testing.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule on Dec. 28, 2023, updating its regulations related to histocompatibility and personnel requirements, making them effective Dec. 28, 2024.
The Joint Commission’s new and revised requirements will be posted on the Prepublication Standards page, will publish online in the fall 2024 E-dition® update to the CAM-LAB, and will be included in the hard-copy and PDF versions of the 2025 CAMLAB.
For more information, please contact The Joint Commission’s Standards and Survey Methods.