Joint Commission CAH Accreditation Receives Conditional Approval from CMS

The Oct. 24 Federal Register by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) states "the Joint Commission received conditional approval for its critical-access hospital (CAH) accreditation program, but the program was placed on probation until it fixes the gaps between its standards and Medicare's conditions of participation."

Under updated "conditions, critical-access hospitals are allowed to provide inpatient psychiatric or rehabilitation services in a distinct-part unit as long as those services comply with hospital requirements in other sections of Medicare's conditions of participation." After the Joint Commission "has submitted its revised distinct-part unit standards [to reflect the updated conditions], the CMS will conduct a survey to validate the changes."

The Joint Commission CAH accreditation pro has been placed under a 180 day probationary period from November 21, 2008 through May 28, 2009 to revise its accreditation standards to meet or exceed CMS standards set forth in the Medicare conditions of participation. The conditional approval period applies to TJC CAH accreditation granted between November 21, 2008 through November 21, 2001.

The full Federal Register announcement can be found here:
http://frwebgate5.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/TEXTgate.cgi?WAISdocID=457935302722+1+1+0&WAISaction=retrieve

Frist to Step Down from HCA Board

According to a securities filing, Thomas Frist, Jr. will step down from the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) board effective January 1 and will be replaced by his son, William Frist, who will serve on the company’s patient safety and qualiy of care committee.

October 29 Health Care Staffing Certification Call Hosted by The Joint Commission

"Health Care Staffing Certification – What’s New?
Ask the Experts!"

In this one-hour call Michele Sacco and Joint Commission staff will discuss the latest information about changes to certification, and give you plenty of
time to ask questions about the following topics:

- 2009 changes to scoring and decision rules
- Certification participation requirements
- The CMIP (Certification Measurement Information Process)
- Performance measurement requirements
- Standards interpretation.

This call will be helpful to both certified and not-yet-certified organizations.

Wednesday, October 29
11:30 am (Central Time)

To register, please go to

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gg8KLdhMoonkrM_2bq2e3NGw_3d_3d

State Report Outlines Challenges of E-Health Implementation

The first annual report of the State Alliance for E-Health, a panel created by the National Governor's Association, called on states and the federal government to work together to implement improvements in health information technology (HIT).

The variation of state provider licensure requirements was cited as one of the challenges of implementing a national HIT system for licensing. Recommendations offered by the report include:

• The adoption of a core licensure application in every state based on the Federation of State Medical Board's Common Licensure Application Form
• Promoting the use of online licensure applications
• Developing a national core set of credentialing parameters
• Directing each state professional board to select a central CVO for primary source verification
• Directing each state professional board to require state and federal criminal background checks for all applicants seeking a state license
• Standardization of the regulatory framework for each field of advanced practice nursing

The full report can be found here: http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0809EHEALTHREPORT.PDF

Norway-based Company Granted CMS Deeming Authority

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) granted deeming authority to Det Norske Veritas (DNV) , a Norway-based company. DNV joins The Joint Commission and the American Osteopathic Association as the newest organization to receive hospital accreditation authority in 30 years.

DNV is recognized for its integration of international quality standards with the Medicare Conditions of Participation.

Source: Healthcare Finance News
http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8693&page=1