The Joint Commission Reduces New Requirements

The Joint Commission has reduced its new and revised requirements (from 165 to 87) as part of its hospital deeming application to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The 87 new requirements are available on The Joint Commission Web site. Hospitals will be surveyed on these new requirements from April 6 through June 30; however, the requirements will not affect accreditation decisions until July 1.

The Joint Commission released the 165 requirements in early January. HANYS, along with other health care associations, had encouraged The Joint Commission to continue its discussions with CMS to attempt to reduce the significant number of new requirements. After several successful discussions with CMS, The Joint Commission was able to eliminate approximately half of those requirements, reducing the number to 87.

The 87 requirements fall into four main categories: restraint and seclusion, history and physical, anesthesia, and blood transfusions. The Joint Commission is currently finalizing the scoring for the new requirements and expects to release that information to hospitals soon. HANYS encourages hospitals to review the new requirements and make any necessary changes to become compliant with the requirements by July 1. Contact: Christa Christakis