October 2020 Newsletter                      Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterView our profile on LinkedInView our videos on YouTube 
Our newsletter for October focuses on the ongoing challenges in Preventing Patient Falls and managing the many aspects of Medical Staff and provider credentialing and privileging. 

With more than 700,000 patient falls annually, and a third resulting in significant injury, we need more strategies to prevent patient falls.  Chris Pratt provides enlightenment in viewing Prevention of Falls as a Team Sport where everyone has unique and important contributions. Read on to learn more about assessment and mitigation strategies as you consider options for prevention in your organization.
 
Denise Smith zeroes in on key components of credentialing for all providers. From the time an application is received, primary sources verified, experience and performance measured, to the approval of privileges, necessary steps must be taken. Each provider must be able to demonstrate the education, training, competence and performance needed to carry out specific privileges in a care and effective manner.   Learn more about the flow of credentialing and privileging to maximize the effectiveness of your approach.
Patient Fall Prevention - Are You Addressing the Risk?  


How is your organization doing in addressing fall risks for your patients?
 
Patient falls are among the most reported patient safety incident. Recent data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) estimates that 700,000 to 1 million hospitalized patients fall each year with a third sustaining serious injury or even death.   Approximately half of the 1.6 million U.S. nursing home residents fall each year with nearly 10% resulting in significant injury according to a 2014 report from the Office of the Inspector General.  Read More.
 
About the Authors -

Christopher Pratt is an Associate Consultant with more than 32 years in clinical and leadership experience working in varying healthcare positions. He retired in 2016 with over 29 years of distinguished service as a U.S. Navy Nurse Corps Officer. Clinically, he is a licensed Registered Nurse with extensive experience in critical care, medical-surgical services, ambulatory care, staff development, nursing administration and quality.  
Stark Law Update Extended
 
CMS announced the proposed Stark Law Update has been extended. As of August 26, 2020, the timeline for the publication of the modernized Physician Self-Referral Law has been extended until August 31, 2021. See Federal Register link below for more information.
                                          

 
Credentialing: How to Succeed 

Credentialing is the process of obtaining, verifying, and assessing the qualifications of a practitioner to provide care or services in or for a health care organization. Credentials are documented evidence of licensure, education, training, experience, or other qualifications. Credentials can be in the form of a  certificate, letter, official identification, or experience that confirms a practitioner is qualified to perform specific procedures or services.Read More.
 
About the Author -   
 
Denise Smith, RN,MS,CLNC is an Associate Consultant with Courtemanche & Associates.  Denise has more than 40 years of experience and expertise in Infection Prevention, Sterile Processing, Legal Nurse Consulting, Quality and Resource Management, Clinical Education, and a variety of acute inpatient and outpatient care settings.Clinically, Denise is a licensed Registered Nurse with an extensive background in Infection Prevention and Control for perioperative settings, Sterile Processing and Quality Management. Read more about Denise and our team. 

 

 
             
A unique program designed for leaders providing useful tools over the course of one year to assist your team in improving survey outcomes and understanding regulatory requirements and expectations.   
 
Coming October 12th . . .   
Behavioral Health Medical Record Requirements 

 
 
   
Each month's package will contain a minimum of 3 documents that may include tracing tools, competencies, checklists for policies & procedures or  other useful items.   
 
The packets are designed to pertain to top problematic standards from both the available national and our internal data.  
 
 Previous offerings Include:
  • Restraint
  • Data & Quality Management
  • Preventing Surgical Site Infections
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Managing Requirements
  • Redefining Operations
  • Vulnerable Patients
  • Behavioral Health Patient Elopement
  • Antibiotic Stewardship
Colleague feedback includes:
"Great tools - very user friendly and very useful"
"I like the fact that you provide the policy, tracer and competency for one focused topic" "...The checklists are very helpful"
 
To order or for more information click here 
 
Visit Us On Social:
The Joint Commission® is a registered trademark of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Courtemanche & Associates has no affiliation with this entity.
Some readers see this part of your email after the subject line in the inbox.
Write something brief and catchy, compelling them to open the email.