Accreditation Newsletters

Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider Briefings on The Joint Commission

Whether you're complying with The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals, meeting CMS requirements, or overcoming AAAHC survey challenges, maintaining highquality patient care is no small task. Every issue of Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider is packed with field-tested compliance tips you can implement right away and how-to advice from ambulatory experts across the country.

2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider

Issue 12, December 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Faulty filing can put primary care patients at risk of medical errors

  New study looks at the cause of errors in family practicesHospital patient safety experts tend to...

• JCAHO pushes for more educational surveys

  Head’s up on survey changes for 2004 The JCAHO wants to shift from survey preparation to...

• JCAHO statistics: Lack of communication is the most common root cause of medica

  Communication breakdowns create more serious repercussions than simple misunderstandings and...

• One Nebraska reproductive health center receives an organizational status chang

  Surprises can happen on accreditation day, but the news isn’t always bad. That’s what...

• Whip your competency assessment program into shape

  Assessing staff competencies not only ensures that your employees have the knowledge and skills to...

Issue 11, November 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• A AAAHC surveyor lends a handwith quality improvement and documentation

  Undergoing its first AAAHC survey helped staff members at MGA Gastrointestinal Diagnostic and...

• The daily act of accreditation: Some pointers on how to promote continuous surve

  The daily act of accreditation: Some pointers on how to promote continuous survey readiness

• Put critical patient medication information at your fingertips

  It’s common practice for caregivers to obtain important patient information when dispensing...

• Recording a detailed patient history includes asking patients about herbal supp

  Twenty-two percent of surgical patients take herbal medicines and of those, 70% fail to inform...

• The AAAHC’s proposed standard revisions for 2003

  The AAAHC’s anticipated standard changes for 2003 further clarify physician monitoring of...

Issue 10, October 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Wake-up call: A look at nurse anesthetist supervision

  Wake-up call: A look at nurse anesthetist supervision

• Go directly to the appropriate source when verifying credentials

   Understand the definitions of primary and secondary source verifications  Know the acceptable...

• Patient safety goals primer, part II

  Patient safety goals primer, part II

• Privileges v. scopes of practice: How to handle AHPs

  Privileges v. scopes of practice: How to handle AHPs

Issue 9, September 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• A blueprint for laying a firm patient care foundation: Use the patient safety g

  The JCAHO’s patient safety goals should help your organization shift to more targeted...

• Ambulatory safety plans are as varied as the people they serve

  Both the AAAHC and JCAHO require you to have emergency plans to handle disasters that happen...

• The inside scoop on what to expect during a Medicare survey

  If you’ve never experienced a Medicare survey or wonder what the federal...

Issue 8, August 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How much are ambulatory surgery center employees paid?

  How much are ambulatory surgery center employees paid?

• Be careful transcribing, properly storing drugs

  Don’t wait until the JCAHO’s draft medication standards take effect to start...

• Credentialing primer: A look at the AAAHC’s credentialing standards

  Of all the compliance issues that organizations struggle with, privileging and credentialing...

• CVOs: Cost-effective or costly? You decide!

  Price is a key consideration in deciding whether to delegate credentialing to a credentials...

• EMTALA makeover to promote reasonable emergency care

  CMS proposes changes to anti-dumping statuteSeveral “common sense improvements” may...

• Survey monitor: An Oklahoma surgery center learns how to improve physician comp

  When St. Anthony North Ambulatory Surgery Center underwent its second AAAHC survey this past...

• The JCAHO approves patient safety goals

  Editor’s note: The following is a portion of the July 23 fax express announcing the approval...

Issue 7, July 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• A menu of options to regulate office-based centers

  Increased growth in OBS means increased need for oversightThe Federation of State Medical Boards...

• OB/GYN practitioners experience opportunities for growth

  OB/GYN practitioners experience opportunities for growth

• A sound compliance plan keeps lawsuits at bay, builds employee trust

  Consider seven elements for your planIf convicted of health care fraud, you will likely suffer a...

• New certification for ASC administrators

  In most ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), the administrator is the senior-most manager who must...

• Spanish, on the fly

  Interpreters, waiting room videos help docs understand patient painWendy Funk, MD, would probably...

• Survey monitor: A Kentucky multispecialty center undergoes its first AAAHC accr

  Organized and uniform credential files and proving by way of meeting minutes that the governing...

Issue 6, June 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Lay your credentialing foundation with strong governing body bylaws

  One of the most important governing body responsibilities is overseeing all physician...

• Tread cautiously when granting temporary privileges-unless it’s an emerge

  A woman who’s miscarrying and bleeding heavily appears at your ambulatory center because...

• Work with department managers to provide job-specific HIPAA training

  One person cannot train every member of the work force on how to comply with the Health Insurance...

Issue 5, May 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Ophthalmology centers should eyeball their colleagues to share best practice ide

  Ophthalmology centers should eyeball their colleagues to share best practice ideas

• BOAA’s confidential salary survey results are in!

  Check out how you compare with ambulatory workers nationwideMost of your colleagues are...

• Ophthalmology centers should eyeball their colleagues to share best practice id

  Ophthalmology centers should eyeball their colleagues to share best practice ideas

• Revisions specify how to ward off disease, chemicals, and bioterrorism

  Organizations now have more direction in how to protect their workers from a wide range of health...

• Survey monitor: How surveyors scoped out environment of care areas

  Northeast health system discusses smoking policy disputeJCAHO surveyors had their pens out during...

• Surveyors hunt for evidence of effective leadership efforts

  LD.2 shoots up the ladder of troublesome standardsAt a governing board meeting last year, leaders...

• Train office managers to keep physicians HIPAA-compliant

  Physicians are probably one of your facility’s biggest Health Insurance Portability and...

Issue 4, April 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Feds fail to properly monitor ASC accreditation process, OIG says

  Ambulatory accreditors contest ‘superficial survey’ claimWhile ambulatory surgery...

• The new JCAHO hot buttons: Pain management, equipment monitoring, and PI traini

  Asking that yes-or-no question, “Are you in pain?” is a challenge for the complex mix...

• AAAHC adds incident reporting, revamps anesthesia standards

  AAAHC adds incident reporting, revamps anesthesia standards

• This month’s focus: Ambulatory organizations find some assessments pains

  Ambulatory organizations struggle with assessing all patients for pain, more so than hospitals...

Issue 3, March 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Revised medication standards call for team compliance

  Get ready to revamp your policiesThe JCAHO’s draft revisions to the medication standards...

• FASA: The JCAHO's wrong-site surgery report is misleading

  FASA: The JCAHO’s wrong-site surgery report is misleading

• Survey monitor: Daily attention to survey prep keeps Colorado freestanding stud

  It’s wiser to plan continuously for survey, rather than start the process a year before the...

• Wake-up call: A look at nurse anesthetist supervision

  States can opt out of rule, but must ensure competencyWhether certified registered...

Issue 2, February 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Annual JCAHO surveyor conference stresses emergency management, patient safety,

  Editor’s note: This is a shortened version of the fax express sent to your facility on...

• How are ASC employees paid?

  FASA’s salary survey shows you the moneyAlthough ambulatory surgery center (ASC) nurses...

• Patient safety focus in EC revisions calls for greater communication

  Consider two notable changes to the environment of care (EC) standards that took effect...

• Practice spotlight: OB/GYN practitioners experience opportunities for growth

  OB/GYN is a unique field in medicine because it not only focuses on primary care with intensive...

• The AAAHC’s revised anesthesia services standards provide organizations w

  The AAAHC’s revised anesthesia services chapter in the 2002 Accreditation Handbook for...

Issue 1, January 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• AAAHC adds incident reporting, revamps anesthesia standards

  AAAHC adds incident reporting, revamps anesthesia standards

• BOAA 2001 index

  BOAA 2001 index

• FASA: The JCAHO's wrong-site surgery report is misleading

  FASA: The JCAHO’s wrong-site surgery report is misleading

• Practice spotlight: Ophthalmology centers should eyeball their colleagues to sha

  Practice spotlight: Ophthalmology centers should eyeball their colleagues to share best practice...