The Joint Commission invites comment on violence prevention standard

The Joint Commission is seeking comments on proposed new and revised requirements for workplace violence prevention in hospital and critical access hospital accreditation programs.

New requirements (indicated by a grey background and bolded text under new EP) will require an annual work-site analysis related to its workplace violence program. The workplace violence program will include a proactive analysis of the work site, an investigation of the hospital’s workplace violence events, and an analysis of how the program’s policies and procedures, training, education and environmental design reflect current practices and conform to applicable laws and regulations. New requirements also call for hospitals to have a workplace violence prevention program led by a designated individual and developed by a multidisciplinary team.

Revisions to existing EPs instruct hospitals to include incidents related to workplace violence in the already established process(es) for monitoring, reporting and investigating issues such as injuries, illness, spills and fire safety problems. The workplace violence prevention program will also require training, education and resources for the prevention of workplace violence. The training and resources are provided within 90 days of hire, annually and ongoing.

To make comments on theses proposed new and revised requirements, submit your comments by Feb. 16.