After conducting an all-member survey to collect feedback about concerning The Joint Commission (TJC)  regulations, ACEP has summarized the member responses and is working with TJC to address relevant issues. The most common concern was the ability to eat and drink in the emergency department, a regulation that ACEP worked with TJC to clarify in Feb. 2019. It was confirmed that TJC and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration don’t have policies forbidding eating and drinking in the ED, but some hospitals do have their own policies. We created resources to help you advocate for improvements at your place of employment. Visit www.acep.org/letseat for all of the details and resources related to eating and drinking in the emergency department.

The second-most common concern voiced by our members was the requirement for 1:1 sitters for patients who are suicidal, along with universal screening for suicidal patients. TJC recommends universal screening for suicidality but only requires it for patients who present with behavioral emergencies. TJC does, however, require 1:1 sitters for patients who are suicidal. ACEP is discussing appropriate alternatives with TJC.

Wondering what else came up in the survey? Cleaning the ultrasound machine, the need to laminate all posted notices, and the number of screens performed by triage nurses, to name a few. ACEP and TJC are working through these concerns to determine how many are related to TJC regulations and how many are unique to specific hospital policies.

Thank you to everyone who filled out the survey. We will keep you posted on progress as ACEP’s advocacy and clinical affairs teams continue discussions with TJC.