Pre-publication information from CMS Innovation Grants and The Joint Commission Standards this week highlight the attention being placed on our nation’s emergency departments:
CMS Innovation Grants
About half of the currently CMS innovation listed grants have specific language in the abstracts about reducing ED visits or are specific to emergency care and almost ALL touch the emergency care system somewhere. Several grants mention reducing ED use for patients with mental health issues. Each of these represents an opportunity for ENA involvement at the state and regional levels. Award abstracts are available at:
http://www.innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/Innovation-Awards/Project-Profiles.html
The Joint Commission
Now available on The Joint Commission website are new pre-publication Standards Revisions to Address Patient Flow Through the ED:
http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/18/Pre_Publication_EDO_HAP.pdf
It may also be of interest to emergency nurses to review the new pre-publication standards for emergency drills/homecare in order to consider what partnership and alignment opportunities exist between home care and the emergency department:
http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/18/Pre_Publication_OME_EM.pdf