Joint Commission surveyors work onsite with ASC staff to ensure they are prepared for a successful survey. During survey, staff should feel free to ask the Life Safety Code surveyor questions to better understand the survey processes.
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TJC
Advanced Directives in Outpatient Settings
Understanding and incorporating a patient’s right to make decisions about their plan-of-care plays an integral role in overall health care outcomes. Honoring end-of-life choices in ambulatory settings is complex, since determination whether a health care organization will venerate a patient’s choice may vary based on services provided and specific patient populations served. It is also challenging for health care organizations to balance patient rights against possible ethical challenges.
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Is That Instrument Safe To Use On A Patient?
In addition to instruments in disrepair making their way to the sterile field, Joint Commission surveyors have unfortunately noted with increasing frequency, the reprocessing of single-use devices (SUDs) – items labeled by their manufacturer as “single use” or disposable. These devices often consist of lower-quality material and as a result, develop pitting and oxidation which indicates possible hazard to a surveyor. Reprocessors are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are subject to all regulatory requirements currently applicable to the original device manufacturer, including premarket submission requirements. If a health care organization reprocesses a single-use device, it is dangerously allowing itself to become a manufacturer of a medical device – and thus assumes all of the manufacturer’s liability, should that device fail. In addition, it takes on the liability of possible FDA rule violation. Single-use instruments must be removed from trays and discarded or sent to an FDA-approved reprocessor of SUDs.
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Medication Storage and Security Assessment is Key to Patient Medication Safety
During clinical practice and studies, health care professionals, especially nurses, quickly become educated on reviewing the “Five Rights” or “Five Rs” for safe medication practices: Right patient, Right drug, Right dose, Right route and Right time.
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Preventing Unintended Retained Foreign Object in Ambulatory Surgery Care
Unintended retention of foreign objects (URFOs) – also called retained surgical items (RSIs) – after invasive procedures are Sentinel Events reportable to The Joint Commission.
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Surgical Smoke Evacuator Maintenance Is Important
It is so important for ambulatory surgery centers to be aware of the risks of surgical smoke and how they can best mitigate those risks.
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