In the News: Joint Commission Standards Improvement Initiatives

Home health and hospice care providers should note the recent releases available from the Joint Commission. They include the revised 2009 Leadership chapter standards and the proposed revisions to the Rights and Responsibility chapter. These releases are part of the ongoing Joint Commission’s Standards Improvement Initiative [SII]. The primary focus of this initiative as outlined by the Joint Commission is to clarify standards language, ensure that standards are program-specific, delete redundant/non-essential standards and consolidate similar standards. The targeted effective date for standards improvement initiative revisions for providers accredited through the Joint Commission’s Home Care Accreditation program, which includes home care, hospice and home medical equipment providers, is January 2009. [http://www.jointcommission.org/Standards/SII/]

The Rights and Responsibility chapter comment period is now underway and individuals and providers are asked to review and comment on these standards. The window of opportunity for review of these proposed standards is through the end of the year. The Rights and Responsibility chapter’s primary focus in unchanged, and continues to be focused on addressing patient rights from an organizational perspective as they relate to care, treatment and services.

Several standards proposed for movement from the Rights and Responsibility chapter to other chapters include the ethics standards moved to the Leadership chapter and pain management standard moved to Provision of Care chapter. In addition, there are several standards that have been deleted and a new numbering system that will allow for additional standards being developed and integrated into these chapters in the future.

To access the proposed standards and provide comment, individuals and providers should go to http://www.jointcommission.org/Standards/SII/.

The process for review and comment is outlined at this location, along with additional resources and information links that include proposed revisions to standards, as well as proposed standard deletions, chapter information, and comparisons to existing standards. In addition at this online location, the recently released Leadership chapter standards are available.[www.jointcommission.org/Standards/SII/sii_ri_ome.htm]

The 2009 Leadership Chapter, available at this web location, is a 51-page document that provides a complete overview of this chapter. Included in this document are the elements of performance needed to meet each standard.  Furthermore specific details relative to additional requirements that Medicare certified Home Health and Hospice providers must meet relative to the Code of the Federal Register [CFR] and Conditions of Participation [COPs] requirements for those provider types is noted within the chapter.