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.

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Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider

Issue 12, December 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Environmental services: Prevent infections and ensure safety

  Even with initiatives such as hand hygiene awareness, respiratory etiquette, and standard and...

• Affecting change in Nevada’s infection control regulations

  For some, it’s a reprimand from your boss. For others, it’s a hepatitis C outbreak...

Issue 11, November 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• AAAHC report details best practices for cataract surgery

  A new report details how ambulatory organizations that perform cataract extraction with lens...

• OSHA horror stories highlight safety faux pas

  When you work in the healthcare field, you accumulate many stories. Soon you begin to think...

Issue 10, October 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Preparing your outpatient facility for a pandemic

  Each year, medical facilities around the country use the months leading up to annual flu season to...

• Steam sterilization is on Joint Commission’s radar

  According to a recent announcement by The Joint Commission, after working with multiple...

Issue 9, September 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Protecting workers from MDROs in the workplace

  In recent years, multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) have come under increased scrutiny...

• Electronic surveillance systems increase efficiency

  The electronic data-mining systems today do away with the grueling, time-consuming process of...

• Planning for infectious waste disposal

  Although infection preventionists (IP) will be focused on employee safety and mitigating the...

Issue 8, August 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• ’Just-in-time’ fit testing offers quick, easy solution

  Although the outbreaks served as an opportunity to fit test employees who typically get a pass on...

• Swine flu scare provides real-time preparedness training

  Although the outbreaks have seemingly subsided from fears of a full-blown pandemic, the relatively...

• HHS plans to use $50 million to prevent infections

  Although we’ve yet to see whether the $787 billion economic stimulus package passed by...

Issue 7, July 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New antibiotic-resistant organism elicits CDC recommendations

  Carbapenem-resistant or carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) have recently emerged as...

• Injecting entertainment into annual safety retraining

  A few simple adjustments to your education program can rouse employees and make retraining...

• Are checklists the future of infection prevention?

  The use of checklists dates back to World War II, when pilots used them to conduct a final...

Issue 6, June 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• AAAHC report highlights colonoscopy best practices

  Decreased procedure time leads to increased efficiency Lowering the time patients spend in an...

• New CMS Conditions for Coverage take effect

  As of May 18, Medicare-certified ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) must meet the latest revisions to...

• Pharmaceutical waste regulations complicate disposal

  If your brain starts spinning every time you must throw away pharmaceutical waste, don’t...

Issue 5, May 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Report: HHS must collect better HAI data

  A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released in March calls for the...

• Finding fire safety guidance

  But fire safety is equally important in a smaller medical setting, and receiving the proper...

Issue 4, April 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Greening your facility without sacrificing safety

  Although going green is no doubt a long-term process, the idea that it?s impossible to be...

• System addresses health literacy within state facilities

  The Health Literacy Collaborative (HLC) is a program designed to help educate staff members about...

Issue 3, March 4, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Ergonomics keeps workers healthy, budgets happy

  In a time when jittery financial departments are becoming increasingly conscious of shaving the...

• CDC unveils new disinfection, sterilization guidelines

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated disinfection and sterilization...

• Know OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard

  Did you know that the hepatitis B virus (HBV) can survive for at least one week in dried blood on...

Issue 2, February 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• AAAHC to accredit organizations run by APRNs

  Beginning with the 2009 standards, ambulatory organizations run by advanced practice registered...

• C. diff infections more common than previously estimated

  A new, comprehensive nationwide Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology...

• Using steam to get clean: Operating your facility’s autoclave

  When patients arrive at your facility, the one thing they are certain to expect is cleanliness...

• Use declination forms to boost worker flu vaccinations

  Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) officials took a strong...

Issue 1, January 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Weigh safety risks when protecting electronic records

  Healthcare facilities protect paper medical records from fire by installing sprinkler systems and...

• Cover all the bases with annual safety training

  The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) requires all affected employees (i.e...