Be ready for latex questions from JCAHO
Where does the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, stand on latex allergy? Don’t ignore the issue, is the answer.
Janice Beene, MPH, senior consultant for infection control at Lovelace Health Systems in Albuquerque, NM, explains, "Latex is a huge issue for any hospital. Once you identify sensitivity as a potential problem in your area, the Joint Commission is going to ask what you’ve done about it."
Even if a hospital has never had or noticed a latex-sensitive patient or staff member, it needs to be aware of the lurking problem. "You have to assemble products that are latex-free ahead of time," says Beene, "so when that first patient hits, you’re not scrambling and can provide adequate care."
Hospital Peer Review asked Carole H. Patterson, deputy director of the department of standards at the Joint Commission what would happen if a hospital were totally unaware, unprepared, and unequipped for latex allergy? Would a type 1 recommendation be given?
"No," she said, "because the Joint Commission doesn’t have a standard dealing with latex and will not in the foreseeable future. Latex allergy is a patient care issue and a worker safety issue. Standards are not the issue. What the surveyor would do is ask the employee health unit manager and the risk manager, Have you had any incidents or claims regarding latex allergy?’ We would ask the questions, but we wouldn’t have the standards to score them against. The effect of asking the questions would be to increase the hospital’s awareness."
The Joint Commission published a series of examples about understanding the latex risk in sections PE 1.6.1 & 1.7 and EC .3.2 in the first 1997 update to the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual. "I’m sure there will be other examples in subsequent updates," says Patterson, "because latex is used throughout a hospital. The prevalence of sensitization is really beginning to hit the radar screen."
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content