The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Organizations sets standards for health care organizations. JCAHO was the former acronym and it is now known as The Joint Commission or TJC. The standards for nursing documentation in the Emergency Room, or the ER, fall under the section of the hospital manual known as Provision of Care. There is no specific nursing documentation requirement for the Emergency Room; rather The Joint Commission has many standards for the hospital, some of which apply to the emergency room.
Documentation
History
ER
Standards for nursing documentation in the emergency room should be established by the hospital's overall policies and procedures. The hospital's policies and procedures should be in agreement with The Joint Commission standards and elements of performance. As the standards are reviewed, and amended on a yearly basis, the hospital should review its policies and procedures to be certain that they are in agreement with The Joint Commission.
Types
The standards in the provision of care chapter are broken down into sub-parts, known as elements of performance. The elements of performance set guidelines for quality patient care. The emergency room is part of the acute setting as a whole, and those standards in the provision of care chapter apply to the emergency room as well as the entire hospital. Nursing documentation in the emergency room falls under this broad area.
Function
The Joint Commission has several different manuals under which a hospital can be surveyed. Emergency Rooms generally come under the Hospital manual, which defines standards and elements of performance for acute care settings. The emergency room is part acute care. There are standards and elements of performance that apply to the emergency room, as part of an acute care setting.
Considerations
The Joint Commission also establishes a list of National Patient Safety Goals, which change on a yearly basis. Those are areas that are the most problematic for hospitals, overall. There are 8 to 14 National Patient Safety Goals established yearly. While The Joint Commission does not set forth specific documentation requirements the hospital, in reviewing the National Patient Safety Goals will adjust their documentation requirements to satisfy and meet The Joint Commission standards.
Benefits
The Joint Commission establishes broad guidelines for nursing performance and documentation. While some of the standards apply to nursing performance and documentation, many of the standards set guidelines for performance and documentation for all staff.
Tags: Joint Commission, elements performance, emergency room, acute care, apply emergency, apply emergency room