Beyond the Standard

Accreditation Commission for Health Care

A podcast about ideas in healthcare—the underestimated, the overhyped, and the valuable basics— that drive Accreditation Commission for Health Care’s (ACHC) approach to accreditation across the continuum of care.

Episodes

  1. 27/09/2021

    "The Geriatric Toothfairy"

    Guest Sonya Dunbar, RDH, MHA, is a TEDx and national public speaker guided by over 30 years of dental experience in private practice, skilled nursing facilities, and academia. Sonya and her husband, Gerald Dunbar (both Navy veterans), are the owners of Mobile Dental Xpress, providing comprehensive dental care to long-term care facilities. In addition, Sonya is a geriatric oral health educator providing hands-on training to Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) who work with aging adults. The co-founder of the National Mobile & Teledentistry Dental Conference and the American Mobile Dentistry & Teledentistry Alliance, Sonya is currently pursuing a PhD in Gerontology. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted issues of access to healthcare across the US and globally. With oral health as an example, Beyond the Standard, explores how innovative approaches combining mobile services and telehealth have bridged gaps in access and created new income opportunities providers with accreditation offering assurance of quality. Key Topics “The Geriatric Toothfairy” origin story (1:40) Pandemic accelerated range of mobile dentistry practice specialties (3:06) Access isn’t only for the underserved (4:42) “It doesn’t take away from the brick-and-mortar building.” (5:17) “Mobile dentistry and teledentistry go together like peanut butter and jelly.” (6:04) Starting a national organization, bringing mobile clinicians together. “Together we’re stronger.” (7:39) The oral-systemic link; combining mobile dentistry and mobile medical (9:18) Establishing the bar for quality of care through accreditation (10:15) The changing face of dentistry (14:05) One more question: long-term care workarounds during COVID lockdowns (16:45) Our speakers are here to help. Have a question about this episode? Reach Ms. Dunbar at geriatrictoothfairy@800mdx.com Have an idea for a future podcast? Reach Ms. FitzSimmons at afitzsimmons@achc.org. Connect with us. Has your organization’s use of mobile services and/or telehealth changed in the past two years? Share your organization’s approach on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and tag ACHC. Learn more about ACHC accredited programs at achc.org  Sign up for e-newsletters focused on your healthcare setting. www.achc.org/e-news-signup

    19 min
  2. 30/08/2021

    Utilization Review

    Guests Tatum Parmer, RN, Standards Interpretation Specialist, ACHC Acute Care and Critical Access Hospital Accreditation  Sateesh Prakash, MD, board certified gastroenterologist, Physician Surveyor, ACHC Acute Care Hospital Accreditation     As a payor, CMS is interested in Utilization Review to evaluate the medical appropriateness of services (necessity of admission, length of stay, services provided) and has made it a Condition of Participation for hospitals serving Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Beyond regulatory requirements, utilization review has application as a planning tool for a broad cross-section of healthcare facilities. Utilization review in the broadest sense uses data to evaluate allocation of resources in order to drive higher quality patient care and greater operational efficiency. Tatum Parmer and Sateesh Prakash share their nursing/administrative and physician perspectives on its value.   Key Topics Matching clinical needs to care delivered (2:36) “A perfect tool for recognizing bottlenecks” (3:41) Bridging resources and physician time (4:40) Nurses as gatekeepers (6:20) The impact of COVID-19 (9:58) “Front and center on the operational side” (11:50) Our speakers are here to help. Reach Ms. Parmer at tparmer@achc.org Reach Dr. Prakash at sateeshprakash@gmail.com Reach Ms. FitzSimmons at afitzsimmons@achc.org Connect with us. How has Utilization Review had a positive impact in your setting? Share your organization’s approach on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and tag ACHC.  Learn more about ACHC accredited programs at achc.org   Sign up for e-newsletters focused on your healthcare setting. www.achc.org/e-news-signup

    16 min
  3. 27/07/2021

    What Matters to You?

    Guest Alice Bonner, PhD, RN, FAAN, Senior Advisor on Aging, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) “What Matters to You?” is a simple question to ensure person-centered care. Using it can create deeper personal connection between clinicians, patients and patients’ families leading to more meaningful care plans. Dr. Alice Bonner of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement discusses how this question has spawned multiple initiatives designed to drive shared decision-making across all healthcare settings. Key Topics Introducing our guest, Alice Bonner, PhD, RN, FAAN, Senior Advisor on Aging, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) (1:32) The difference between “what matters to you?” and “what’s the matter with you?” (3:25) A theme in patient feedback across settings (4:41) The vulnerability of the patient role (6:12) Drivers of patient-centered care (10:24) The impact of telehealth (13:03) National organizations engaged with this idea (15:48) The Conversation Project (17:10) Measuring the impact (21:48) Integrating with your quality program (24:30) “It’s not a heavy lift.” (26:17) Referenced in this podcast Barry, Michael J., Edgman-Levitan, Susan. (2012) Shared Decision Making – The Pinnacle of Patient Centered Care. New England Journal of Medicine, 366, 780-781. What Matters to You? What Matters(IHI website with resources) The Conversation Project (IHI website with resources) Center to Advance Palliative Care (Eliciting Patient Priorities via Telehealth) Ariadne Labs Dr. Bonner can be reached at abonner@IHI.org. Sign up for e-newsletters focused on your healthcare setting.

    30 min
  4. 29/06/2021

    The Age of Anxiety

    Guests Erica Schneider, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care and Operations, Soin Medical Center and Kettering Health Greene Memorial Ken Goodman, LCSW and Board Member, Anxiety and Depression Association of America The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that 20.6% of US adults experienced mental illness in 2019. In August 2020 – so about 5 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of individuals reporting symptoms associated with anxiety or depression was 36.4% and in February 2021, it had climbed to 41.5%. This episode of Beyond the Standard looks at the emotional toll of COVID-19 on healthcare workers at two hospitals and shares the perspective of a licensed clinical social worker specializing in anxiety and depression. Key topics Awaiting COVID (2:50) Surge impact on nurses (4:30) “I’ll accept this calling.” (5:30) Self-care vs. family care (7:00) The double squeeze: short-staffing meets time off to be whole. (9:20) “I came to work to do my best.” (11:40) Time needed to heal (13:58) What makes anxiety or depression a clinical concern? (19:00) Anxiety and uncertainty (21:09) “Opportunity to engage with dark and scary thoughts” (23:00) Expectations for therapy (23:54) “We’re all in this together.” (26:16) Referenced in the podcast Massachusetts General Hospital: Guide to Mental Health Resources for COVID-19  Anxiety & Depression Association of America: COVID-19 Anxiety Resources Quiet Mind Solutions Learn more at achc.org.

    29 min
  5. 26/05/2021

    Remember to Breathe

    Guests English National Opera Josh Wilda, Chief Information Officer, Metro Health – University of Michigan Health Doug Lang, Vice President for Client Growth, Health Recovery Solutions José Domingos, President and CEO, ACHC If there has been a silver lining to the pandemic, it’s the innovative solutions that people have found to maintain connection. In this episode of Beyond the Standard, we share the collaboration between the English National Opera and the British National Health Service to support post-acute COVID patients as they learn to manage respiratory symptoms and anxiety using vocal technique inspired by professional singers. Angela FitzSimmons also speaks with a hospital CIO about his approach to digital strategies to increase patient access to care, an executive with a company focused on remote patient monitoring, and ACHC’s CEO on recognition for telehealth programs. Key topics Opera and telehealth 0:40 “Remember to breathe.” 3:28 Sheeba and Richard share lessons learned 4:40 “Our relationship with HFAP has always driven what we need to be.” 6:54 Telehealth success with COVID 12:19 HRS origin story 25:45 “A great way to stay engaged and ultimately lower hospitalizations and readmission rates.” 27:45 HRS/ACHC partnership 30:45 “The best and quickest medical experience I’ve ever had.” 34:05 The impact of COVID 36:52 Implementation of virtual surveys 39:53 Benefit to patients 41:07 Accreditation can have a significant impact on telehealth 42:26 “Organizations that are doing it right stand out.” 44:48 Learn more at achc.org and at hfap.org

    46 min

About

A podcast about ideas in healthcare—the underestimated, the overhyped, and the valuable basics— that drive Accreditation Commission for Health Care’s (ACHC) approach to accreditation across the continuum of care.