TJC and CMS News for the Behavioral Healthcare Industry
November 2018
In This Issue:

Greetings to Our Colleagues in Behavioral Healthcare!
Holiday Greetings  to our clients and colleagues across the country! As this hectic season ensues, we want to keep you up to speed on important regulatory topics for behavioral healthcare.
 
We have three important updates for you this month on TJC and CMS. The first one provides data on the new study on suicides in hospitals. Our second article covers how CMS is now posting the results of their complaint surveys on a new website. Our last article provides info on the changes coming in 2019 to the National Patient Safety Goal on suicide risk assessment.

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 to your colleagues.

Best regards to you and yours for a  Happy Holiday Season !  Our newsletter will return in January 2019. 

Anne Barrins
President/CEO
Due for Your TJC Survey in 2019?

Be ready for the new standards effective January 2019 for both psychiatric hospitals and behavioral health organizations. Contact us now to schedule your mock survey!
 
1-877-546-7206
Tip of the Month
Ready for questions about how your organization has evaluated its Culture of Safety? This has become a routine part of surveys. Check out our recent post Evaluating Your Culture of Safety to get your leaders and staff prepared.
Why Choose
Barrins & Associates?
"We've used Barrins & Associates since our initial Joint Commission accreditation in 2015. They are an extremely valuable resource and well worth the investment!"

Nathan Tuddenham
Chief Operating Officer
Watsonville, CA
19 Years of Service
SUICIDES IN HOSPITALS: 
NEW STUDY PROVIDES DATA
A new study provides the first data driven estimate of the number of suicides in hospitals in the U.S. The study - "Inciden ce and Method of Suicide in Hospitals in the U.S." - analyzed national data sets to establish an evidence based estimate of suicides in hospitals and the methods used. Joint Commission researchers published the study ...  
 Continue Reading > 
CMS COMPLAINT SURVEYs:
RESULTS ON NEW WEBSITE
Be aware! CMS will now post CMS complaint survey results on their new website. CMS communicated this in their memo QSO-19-01 on October 4th. This means if CMS conducts a complaint survey at an accredited hospital, they will post their official report of findings (the "2567" report) on this website ...
Continue Reading > 
NATIONAL PATIENT SAFETY GOAL NPSG.15.01.01:
CHANGES COMING IN 2019
As we know, suicide risk assessment continues to be a high focus area for The Joint Commission. Accordingly, TJC will further strengthen its approach to suicide risk reduction in 2019 and revise National Patient Safety Goal NPSG.15.01.01. As a result, the expanded NPSG.15.01.01 will require organizations ...
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NEW CLIENTs
Barrins & Associates is pleased to welcome three new clients: Mesilla Valley Hospital in Las Cruces, New Mexico; Montefiore Nyack Hospital in Nyack, New York; and Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown, Connecticut. We are pleased to be working 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.

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