The Joint Commission introduced new and revised requirements for hospitals and ASCs that participate in the Advanced Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement Certification program, effective July 1, 2020.
Covering clinical care, information management, performance measurement, program management, and supporting self-management, the new and updated requirements aim to improve safety and quality of services for patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty.
The standards require participating programs to:
- Use transfer protocols with standardized handoffs to support the continuity of care.
- Try to optimize the patient's condition prior to surgery.
- Provide program-specific orientation for staff caring for patients.
- Offer an overview of total hip and knee replacement to the patient, family and caregivers.
- Establish care pathways to promote standardized care delivery during preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative stages.
- Follow American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons clinical practice guidelines.
- Implement best practices for the care of patients recovering from total hip or knee replacement.
- Use an established performance improvement process to monitor infection and blood management, including interoperative blood loss and transfusion rates.
The standards include 11 new and 11 revised elements of performance.
Read them in full here.