IN THIS ISSUE
p. 4 The Joint Commission releases
proposed Patient Safety Goals
Some pleased, some unhappy, and some
confused by the proposed requirements.
p. 6 Accreditation spotlight
This surgery center saw survey success by assigning staff members
Joint Commission chapters they were responsible for.
p. 7 Reducing OR infections
Proper terminal cleaning is critical.
p. 8 Seven steps for QI study success
Closing the loop is key to sustaining improvement.
p. 10 New York designates three accrediting agencies
Surgery centers urged to start investigating accreditation now.
New AAAHC standards hold
patients accountable for
their care and compliance
Scores of revised standards for organizations accred-
ited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory
Health Care, Inc. (AAAHC) take effect this month, in-
cluding one that calls on patients to bear some responsi-
bility for their own care.
Nearly every chapter of the 2008 AAAHC handbook
contains revisions, some intended to keep pace with
technological changes, others to clarify existing stan-
dards. (See “AAAHC revises light-based, radiation tech
standards” on p. 3.)
The first significant change starts in Chapter 1. Previ-
ously “Patient Rights,” the chapter is now “Patient Rights
and Responsibilities.” It says that patients are required to
give their providers a comprehensive list of their medica-
tions, including herbal supplements, and asks patients to
respect staff members.
“From my own experience in outpatient healthcare, it
is very apparent that from time to time, any physician of-
fice will accept the care of a patient who is very difficult to
manage,” says Marsha Wallander, RN, assistant director
for accreditation services at AAAHC. “Perhaps the patient
is noncompliant with the treatment plan or is disruptive
in a personal way
and using foul lan-
guage in the wait-
ing room. Those
kind of issues need
to be managed.”
Specifically,
Standard 1G says
that before patients receive care, they must get informa-
tion about their responsibilit