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Tip of the week: Avoid specific standard numbers in your policies

Healthcare Security Weekly, December 10, 2007

If The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) ratifies its proposed EC standard revisions as written, hospitals will see the vast renumbering of the standards. The revamp will likely send a number of hospitals scurrying to update policy manuals if they quote chapter and verse of The Joint Commission manual in them, or if they number their policies similar to the current EC standards.

A good rule is to avoid mentioning specific EC standard numbers in your policies, says Steven MacArthur, safety consultant for The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, Inc., in Marblehead, MA. Simply reference "Joint Commission Environment of Care standards" in your programs, and even skip the current EC abbreviation just to be safe, he adds.

To learn more about the proposed changes to EC standards, go to www.hcpro.com/ppv-78579.html. The cost is $10. Briefings on Hospital Safety subscribers received this story with their subscriptions.

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