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New CMS guidance on ligature risk says TJC recommendations set the bar

Healthcare Life Safety Compliance, September 1, 2018

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Expect CMS surveyors to be referring to recommendations set out by The Joint Commission (TJC) last fall when looking for ligature risk and other environmental hazards in the push to make hospitals and psychiatric units safer for patients at-risk of self-harm.

For now, assess your hospital’s environmental compliance against those TJC recommendations, regardless of what organization you might use for accreditation, and be prepared to provide one-to-one observation of at-risk patients if you cannot provide a ligature-resistant environment, says one safety consultant.

In a new memo to its state survey agencies, CMS said it would use those TJC recommendations — drawn from a task force convened by the accreditor that included several CMS experts in suicide prevention — as the federal agency goes forward with clarifying and updating interpretive guidelines for its surveyors.

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Healthcare Life Safety Compliance.

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