TJC and CMS News for the Behavioral Healthcare Industry
June 2019
In This Issue:

Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Healthcare!
We hope the summer season has arrived in your part of the country! Although it's a more leisurely time of the year, we continue to keep you updated on important topics related to regulatory compliance and best practices in Behavioral Healthcare.

This month, our first article provides important clarifications on the new requirements that go into effect on July 1 for the National Patient Safety Goal on Suicide Risk Reduction. Our second article continues our series on Survey Management Strategies and covers the Medication Management tracer that takes place during TJC surveys.
 
We value your feedback on the newsletter. Please send us your comments and tell us what topics you would like to see in future issues. We look forward to hearing from you! And, feel free to to your colleagues.

Anne Barrins
President/CEO
Expecting Your TJC Survey Within the Next Year?

Our mock survey is the best way to test your survey readiness. Contact us now to schedule so you have enough time to address your deficiencies prior to your TJC survey.
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1-877-546-7206
Tip of the Month
TJC's FAQs on Ligatures and Suicide Risk Reduction  are now posted on the TJC website in one easy-to-reference location. It's a handy, go-to source for finding all the current requirements for ligature resistant environments.
Why Choose
Barrins & Associates?

"The most helpful thing about our Barrins & Associates engineer consultant was his in-depth knowledge of the Life Safety standards. He was very thorough but easy to work with. He also went the extra mile to identify areas for improvement that would benefit our organization. We were extremely satisfied with the consultation."

Scott Oxley
President
Bangor, Maine
SUICIDE RISK REDUCTION:
BE CLEAR ON TJC'S NEW JULY 1 REQUIREMENTS
The countdown is on. July 1st is when the new Joint Commission requirements for suicide risk reduction go into effect. The revised National Patient Safety Goal NPSG.15.01.01 has seven new and revised elements of performance.

Many of our clients are now using an evidence based tool for suicide risk screening and assessment. However, some are still using a "home grown" set of suicide risk questions which will not meet the new requirements.
TJC MEDICATION MANAGEMENT TRACER: 
SURVEY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Second in our series on TJC Survey Management Strategies

The TJC Medication Management Tracer has been part of the survey process for awhile. For this reason, some organizations underestimate its importance. Don't make that mistake.

Safe medication management is a high focus area for TJC right now. Consequently, this session is more important than ever. So, what exactly is the Medication Management Tracer all about? And how do you prepare for it?
NEW CLIENTs
Barrins & Associates is pleased to welcome two new clients:
Avera Behavioral Health  in Sioux Falls, SD and River Oaks Hospital in New Orleans, LA. We are pleased to work with these organizations on regulatory readiness !
Barrins & Associates provides Joint Commission and CMS consulting services for the Behavioral Healthcare industry. Our clients include psychiatric hospitals and freestanding Behavioral Healthcare organizations. We specialize in providing Survey Preparation and Continuous Survey Readiness services for the Behavioral Healthcare industry. Barrins & Associates was founded by Anne Barrins who was a Joint Commission surveyor for 13 years.