New Heads-Up Reports now available

New Heads-Up Reports (HURs) are now available for all Joint Commission-accredited health care organizations.

HURs are located on an organization’s secure Joint Commission Connect^® extranet site under the “Resources and Tools” tab. The Heads-Up Report library — which has more than 50 reports — has a new look, as the reports now are categorized according to topic and program, rather than quarter and date, making them easier to find and access.

HURs are separated into four sections:

• Why is this important/scope of the problem?
• Survey observations and contributing factors.
• How to identify problems in your own organization.
• What are some resources that can assist in mitigating risks in these areas?

With the introduction of the SAFER^® Dashboard on Joint Commission Connect, organizations can now see a list of frequently scored standards and elements of performance (EPs) in real time. Organizations

then may search the HUR library for a corresponding and available report for those standards or EPs. HURS will continue to address frequently scored high-risk standards or EPs and provide examples of actual surveyor observations, potential contributing factors, and a checklist (using a tracer methodology) to help organizations identify similar issues in their own organizations prior to survey.

HURs provide clarity on which standards and EPs are being cited, as well as why they are being cited. Primary accreditation contacts are encouraged to distribute HURs to departments and individuals in their organizations who are responsible for the topics identified so any potential issues or risks can be addressed. (Contact: Brette Tschurtz, )