• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Most stringent rules apply for new restraint regulations

Quality Improvement Monitor, April 6, 2007

Hospitals that want to comply with CMS' new restraint and seclusion regulations that went into effect in February need to determine and enforce the most stringent standards, whether they're from The Joint Commission, their state's department of mental health, or CMS.

"It's a blending of the three that's confusing," says Sue Dill, RN, MSN JD, director of hospital risk management for OHIC Insurance Company, The Doctors Company, in Columbus, OH.

The rules that apply in acute-care facilities likely may differ from the ones that govern behavioral health units, according to Dill.

For example, if a patient in the intensive care unit of an acute-care hospital becomes violent and self-destructive, CMS rules will kick in. The big change with the new CMS rule is that registered nurses and physician assistants can now do face-to-face assessments. Previously, only physicians or licensed independent practitioners (LIP) could conduct them.

However, if a patient becomes violent or self-destructive in a behavioral health unit, The Joint Commission's stricter rules would apply. That face-to-face evaluation would have to be done by a physician or LIP. But The Joint Commission is looking at its regulations in light of the new CMS rules, and we can expect to see some changes soon, Dill says.

For more information, click here http://www.hcpro.com/content/68722.cfm

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive