The Joint Commission put out for public comment, proposed telehealth standards for TJC accredited ambulatory and hospital programs, Lexology reports.
In the proposal, the Joint Commission revised two existing standards and created one new standard:
1. The Joint Commission is revising Element of Performance #35 Standard — "For hospitals providing direct-to-patient telehealth services: The hospital has a process to confirm the location of the patient in order to assign a provider in accordance with licensure requirements and law and regulation."
2. The Joint Commission is revising Individual (RI) Standard RI.01.03.01 — "The informed consent process includes a discussion about the patient’s proposed care, treatment, and services. Note: For hospitals providing direct-to-patient telehealth services: The discussion about the patient’s proposed care, treatment, and services includes the type of modality that will be used (for example, telephone, video, asynchronous communication)."
3. The Joint Commission's new RI.01.08.01 standard is centered around three points —
- Hospitals must inform the patient about treatments and services the hospital provides directly or through contractual agreement.
- Patients must receive information about charges prior to the providing any services.
- That payment information must include the provider's name, the provider's credentials and contact information.
4. The Joint Commission ultimately decided to not move forward the standard at this time, however the organization is still evaluating options.