The Joint Commission To Resume Hospital Inspections After Pandemic Hiatus
by Bruce Japsen
The Joint Commission, accreditor of thousands of U.S. healthcare facilities is set to resume its surveys in June as hospitals and health systems re-open to visitors and begin to return hospital operations to a new normal.
The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 21,000 hospitals, health systems, facilities and programs in the U.S. Health facilities stripped of Joint Commission accreditation could find their Medicare funding in jeopardy.
But the powerful healthcare industry accreditor put its surveys on hold effective March 16 as U.S. health facilities focused on treating a surge of patients sickened by the Coronavirus strain COVID-19.
In many cases, hospitals didn’t want to be distracted by Joint Commission surveyors even though patient safety is key to the accreditation process. The Joint Commission said there may have been a small number of surveys, however, that continued in some cases “such as high-risk situations.”
“The Joint Commission is committed to working closely with organizations, with safety being the first and foremost priority,” the Joint Commission said in a Wednesday memo to healthcare facilities.
The resumption of Joint Commission surveys comes as the Trump administration, U.S. and state health departments intensify their own guidelines and safety precautions in an array of health facilities, particularly nursing homes that have been ravaged by COVID-19. Nursing homes have come under intense fire with some reports estimating one- third or more of all COVID-19 deaths being nursing home patients or workers.
Once Joint Commission surveys resume, they will include efforts to assess patient safety and the related impact from the pandemic.
“As we start to resume surveys and reviews, account executives will begin to contact organizations due for a survey to assess the impact that the coronavirus pandemic had on their operations and their current state,” the Joint Commission memo says. “The Joint Commission is reviewing a variety of factors and criteria for determining where and which organizations will be surveyed, including identifying and then prioritizing low-risk areas in which we can go in safely to survey.”
The Joint Commission said its survey process will look “somewhat different” given the need to “employ physical distancing practices.” There will be, for example, need to limit “individuals in group sessions” and use audio and video conference calls.