TJC AND CMS NEWS FOR THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
January 2021
Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Health!
Happy 2021 to all of you! As we begin the new year, we hope, most of all, that it will be a healthy one for you and yours as we continue to combat the challenge of the pandemic.

This month, we’re commencing our 22nd year serving the behavioral healthcare industry. How time flies! We’ve now worked with over 350 organizations nationwide and are very gratified with the relationships we’ve forged with our clients. We pledge to continue to support your accreditation and regulatory compliance efforts this year.

With that goal in mind, we’re providing information this month on two topics of interest to our clients. Our first article is an update on how The Joint Commission surveys behavioral telehealth services – a rapidly expanding service delivery mode. The second provides information about the revised Environment of Care survey process for hospitals.

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! Also, feel free to forward this newsletter to your colleagues.

Again, best regards for a happy, healthy, and fulfilling New Year!
Anne Barrins
President/CEO
In This Issue:
Joint Commission Behavioral Telehealth Update
Joint Commission Environment of Care Review: Different in 2021
New Clients
Tip of the Month
JOINT COMMISSION BEHAVIORAL TELEHEALTH UPDATE
As we’ve all witnessed, the use of behavioral telehealth has increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clearly, it’s proven an important vehicle for delivering services, particularly in the face of the mental health issues the pandemic has created. As a result, the question of “What are the Joint Commission behavioral telehealth requirements?” has come up frequently. So, let’s take a look at that.

Joint Commission Behavioral Telehealth Standards
In its Behavioral Health Care manual, TJC lists “Technology Based” as one of the settings in which an organization can provide services. (To locate this on your Joint Commission Connect site, click on the Service Profile tab and scroll down to the Settings section where you’ll see Technology Based on the list.) The applicable standards for Technology Based services include all the core standards that apply in other types of behavioral health settings.

Behavioral Telehealth Requirements for Opioid Treatment Programs
In April, TJC clarified in an FAQ that an in-person medical evaluation is still a requirement for new OTP patients on methadone. Also, patients ...
JOINT COMMISSION ENVIRONMENT OF CARE REVIEW: DIFFERENT IN 2021
Get ready! The Joint Commission Environment of Care survey process for hospitals has changed in 2021. Previously, there was a one hour session on the hospital survey agenda dedicated to the Environment of Care review. TJC eliminated that session effective January 1, 2021.

Joint Commission Environment of Care Review: What’s Different?
The change for hospitals in 2021 is the Life Safety surveyor will now cover the relevant Environment of Care standards during the Document Review session and Building Assessment. There’s an additional hour on his agenda to cover those EOC standards.

As a result, the Environment of Care Document List and Review Tool is expanded. It now includes additional EOC documents to prepare for the Life Safety surveyor. For example: Environment of Care management plans, annual evaluations, and risk assessments. See the TJC 2021 Survey Activity Guide for this new Document List.

In addition, the clinical surveyors will ...
NEW CLIENTS
Barrins & Associates is pleased to welcome two new clients:
Centerstone Behavioral Hospital & Addiction Center in Bradenton, FL and The Children’s Center of Hamden in Hamden, CT.  We're pleased to work with these organizations on regulatory readiness!
Time to be Survey-Ready Again!
The Joint Commission is conducting both virtual and onsite surveys. So, it’s time once again to be survey-ready. Contact us now and and we’ll help you prepare for the “new normal” in the survey process.  
1-877-546-7206
TIP OF THE MONTH
TJC has published its 2021 Survey Activity Guide. There are some changes to both the survey process and the required documents. So, be sure to check out the 2021 SAG on your Joint Commission Connect site.
Why Choose Barrins & Associates?
“We were extremely satisfied with our recent Barrins & Associates mock survey. Our consultant was a former Joint Commission surveyor. He was extremely knowledgeable about the standards – including some new, challenging ones. And he also gave us very valuable suggestions and resources for making improvements to our services. We feel very well prepared for our next survey thanks to this experience!”
Angela Dunbar
Administrative and Clinical Risk Manager
Bradenton, Florida 
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.