Unannounced TJC surveys are back, are you ready?

The Joint Commission says it will start unannounced surveys again, as of March 15.

By the end of the study, Truman reported that its patient outcomes had improved, low-harm errors were being reported more often, and that quality improvement education had become self-sustaining within the facility.

NCSA executive director Kelvin Coleman recently spoke with HealthLeaders about the continuing threat posed by criminals who see healthcare continuing to be one of the biggest, most lucrative targets for their ever-increasing cyber-intrusion capabilities.

What does it take to turn an already well-performing hospital into a high reliability organization (HRO)? In 2016, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) decided to undertake a three-year project to find out.

For the project, they used the high reliability hospital (HRH) model developed by the VHA’s National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS). The HRH model is open to the public and is based on HRO principles—leadership commitment, a culture of safety, and unit-based process improvement.

If your healthcare system accreditation is tied to a long-term care facility or nursing home, be aware that the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is still going state by state to audit select facilities on-site for adherence to life safety and emergency preparedness regulations.