Joint Commission says, "Stop that duplication"
October 1, 1996 less than 1 minute read
Joint Commission says, Stop that duplication’
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, has a message for SDS managers who duplicate their compliance efforts for different agencies: You can stop!
The Joint Commission has teamed up with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in Washington, DC, to explain how the same activities and documentation can comply with both organization’s standards. For example, OSHA requires hospitals to have a "safety and health committee," while the Joint Commission requires a "safety committee." They are the same thing, says Carole Patterson, MN, RN, deputy director of the Joint Commission’s Department of Standards.
In fact, you can include hospital infection control in that committee, too, Patterson says. "You don’t have to have three committees," she says.
Examples found in JCAHO’s publication
Such examples are included in the Joint Commission’s 1997 edition of the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals: The Official Handbook and will be a part of the 1998 edition of the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Ambulatory Care. A chapter on "simplifying compliance" in the hospital manual also contains information on OSHA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, MD.
For more information about the Joint Commission-OSHA educational partnership, contact Carole Patterson, Deputy Director, Department of Standards, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 1 Renaissance Blvd., Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181. Telephone: (630) 792-5944. Fax: (630) 792-5005. t
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