JCAHO introduces leaner, meaner manual
No major changes planned
Home care organizations will have only one new standard to worry about when the Oakbrook Terrace, IL-based Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) puts out its latest manual in October. According to Richele Schaffer, MA, manager of home care accreditation, the manual includes a new ethics standard, number RE4.2, covering the integrity of clinical decisions regardless of who pays for care. (For coverage of the new standard, see Homecare Quality Management, June 1998, p. 100.)
But while there is only one new standard, home care executives will notice new wording on the standard covering sentinel events. "There is new wording designed to make agencies show they have a system in place for evaluating sentinel events," she says. "We want agencies to show they are planning for every eventuality." In addition, there are about 10 fewer standards than last year, says Schaffer, explaining that JCAHO eliminated standards covered in more than one section.
JCAHO plans to begin mailing the new manuals Oct. 1, but unless you are due to have a survey shortly after that, don't expect to see yours until the end of the month. Schaffer says priority goes to agencies with the most immediate need.
If you want to request additional manuals, however, you can still do so in advance of the publication date. They won't be mailed until later, she says, but you can still get the ordering out of the way.
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