Accredited Well being Care Suppliers Rejoice: The Joint Fee is Eliminating 14% of its Requirements Throughout Accreditation Packages | Blogs | Well being Care Legislation At this time

On Wednesday, December 21, 2022, The Joint Fee introduced that, efficient January 1, 2023, it’s eliminating 168 (or 14%) of its accreditation requirements throughout its accreditation applications, and revising 14 extra. The Joint Fee accredits many alternative classes of well being care suppliers, together with hospitals, important entry hospitals, assisted dwelling communities, ambulatory care organizations, house care entities, and laboratories. 

The accreditation applications and related requirements that can be impacted by The Joint Fee adjustments are as follows: 

• Hospital: 56 requirements deleted and 4 revised
• Essential Entry Hospital: 37 requirements deleted and 4 revised
• Ambulatory Well being Care: 20 requirements deleted and one revised
• Behavioral Well being Care and Human Providers: 9 requirements deleted and one revised
• House Care: 10 requirements deleted and one revised
• Laboratory Providers: six requirements deleted and one revised
• Nursing Care Middle: 12 requirements deleted and one revised
• Workplace-Based mostly Surgical procedure: 18 requirements deleted and one revised

The impetus underlying these adjustments was the will to streamline requirements and reduce administrative burdens for well being care suppliers. The announcement adopted a complete evaluation (introduced in September 2022) of The Joint Fee requirements to find out, in every occasion, whether or not (1) the usual addressed an essential high quality and security concern; (2) the usual was redundant; and (3) the time and assets wanted to adjust to the usual have been commensurate with the usual’s estimated profit to affected person care and well being outcomes. The evaluation additionally took into consideration the opinions of specialists throughout the area. 

The Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Providers (CMS) authorized The Joint Fee’s proposed elimination and revision of requirements, and confirmed that the eradicated and revised requirements wouldn’t diminish or cut back CMS’ personal regulatory necessities.

Along with its requirements adjustments, The Joint Fee introduced that it isn’t elevating its accreditation charges for home hospitals in 2023, in recognition of the monetary challenges hospitals and well being techniques are going through at the moment.  

Many state and federal businesses chargeable for certifying or licensing well being care suppliers settle for The Joint Fee accreditation as deemed compliance with their very own security and quality-related certification and licensure requirements. For these well being care suppliers that search The Joint Fee accreditation, and notably these suppliers that depend on The Joint Fee accreditation for state and/or federal certification or licensure functions, The Joint Fee’s announcement that it’s streamlining its accreditation applications and processes is welcome information, because it indicators a probable discount within the monetary, staffing and administrative burdens related to reaching and sustaining such accreditation (and/or certification or licensure).  

These could entry the complete listing of quickly to be eradicated and revised requirements on The Joint Fee’s web site. Notice that The Joint Fee can also be reviewing a second set of requirements for potential elimination or revision. An announcement regarding these requirements is anticipated in about six months.