The Joint Commission announced earlier this year that it would remove a ban on texting orders, but now the organization will wait until September to make this decision official.
Here are five things to know:
1. The Joint Commission decided to delay the ban removal until September to seek additional guidance on secure orders texting for accredited organizations.
2. CMS is collaborating with The Joint Commission to develop guidance for texting orders to ensure congruency with Medicare Conditions of Participation.
3. Both organizations are developing a series of FAQs for healthcare organizations to incorporate text orders into their policies and procedures.
4. The goal is for the organizations to release guidance by late September 2016.
5. Under the new guidance, organizations would be permitted to use secure text messaging platforms to transmit orders.