Environment of Care (EC) (Critical Access Hospitals / Critical Access Hospitals)
Risk Assessments - How and When
Modify | April 11, 2016
How/when are risk assessments required to be performed?
The Joint Commission is not prescriptive in how risk assessments are to be performed. The Joint Commission allows organizations to develop assessment methods that best suit their circumstances and preferences. Organizations may use assessment tools that they consider appropriate to achieve an outcome that mitigates or eliminates the risk. Examples are root cause analysis, failure mode and effect analysis, plan/do/check/act process, etc.; or combinations and variations. Risk assessment results should be reported to the multi-disciplinary team responsible for the Environment of Care Committee, and the Infection Control Committee if they do not share representation. An organizational policy/practice should be generated, appropriate staff trained/notified, and some method to assess effectiveness implemented. The survey process will review the risk assessment and associated policy/practice for effectiveness, and the tracer process will validate proper implementation. Some examples may be found in the Leading Practices area of the organization's Joint Commission intranet website. [EC.02.01.01]
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