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

Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Healthcare!
Holiday Greetings  to our clients and colleagues across the country!
 
The holiday season is hectic! But we still want to keep you up to speed on important topics related to accreditation and regulatory compliance.
 
We're covering two important topics this month. Our first article provides information and resources to meet the requirement of National Patient Safety Goal 15 related to suicide risk reduction and discharge planning. Our second article continues our series on Survey Management Strategies with coverage of the TJC System Tracer on Data Management that takes places during 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.

Best regards to you and yours for a Happy Holiday Season! 

Our newsletter will return in January 2020.

Anne Barrins
President/CEO
Expecting Your TJC Survey in 2020?

Be ready for intense focus on the new suicide risk reduction requirements. Our Mock Surveys include best strategies for meeting these new requirements. Contact  us now to schedule your mock survey. We'll put our 20 year track record to work for you and your team!  

1-877-546-7206
Tip of the Month
TJC retired their BoosterPaks at the end of October because they had become outdated.  The BoosterPaks have been replaced by TJC's R3 Reports, Standards FAQs, and topic-specific web portals - such as the Suicide Prevention Portal . 

So, be sure your policies are in sync with these more current TJC resources.
Why Choose
Barrins & Associates?
"We recently used Barrins & Associates for a ligature risk consultation for our behavioral health programs. Our consultant was just outstanding! So thorough and knowledgeable in his field. We were extremely satisfied with every aspect of the consultation. I would highly recommend Barrins & Associates to anyone seeking a top notch consultation on addressing TJC ligature risk requirements for behavioral health settings."

Ingrid Connerney, DrPH, RN
Vice President and Chief Quality Officer
Cheverly, Maryland

NPSG.15.01.01 Suicide Risk Reduction:
Safety Planning at Discharge
Has your organization addressed the new NPSG.15.01.01.01 requirement for counseling and follow-up care at discharge? It went into effect July 1st. Interestingly, we find many clients focusing on the suicide risk assessment component but paying little attention to this other important requirement.

NPSG.15.01.01.01 Element of Performance (EP) # 6 requires organizations to "follow written policies and procedures for counseling and follow-up care at discharge for patients identified as a risk for suicide." The rationale is that studies have shown the risk for suicide is high following discharge from a psychiatric hospital or an emergency room. 

So, the first step in meeting this new requirement ...
Continue Reading >
TJC System Tracer on Data Management:
Survey Management Strategies
 
 Fifth in our series on TJC Survey Management Strategies

You're coming down the home stretch of your survey. Now it's time for the TJC System Tracer on Data Management.  So, what's this tracer all about these days? And how best to prepare? Let's take a look at the current focus for this session and what surveyors are looking for.

This session has changed quite a bit over the years. It used to be the organization would present a PI project. Sort of a "dog and pony show."

These days, the surveyors really want to see how you use data to evaluate the safety and quality of care you provide ... 
Continue Reading >      
New Clients
Barrins & Associates is pleased to welcome our new client 
St. Anthony's Behavioral Health Hospitals in Wichita and Olathe, Kansas. The hospitals specialize in providing inpatient and outpatient psychiatric treatment for ages 50 and up. They are Joint Commission accredited and CMS certified. We're pleased to work with St. Anthony's BH Hospitals on continuous 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.

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