Joint Commission eases CT technologist standards

After receiving feedback from rural and critical access hospitals, the Joint Commission has elected not to implement certain aspects of proposed advanced certification requirements for CT technologists in new diagnostic imaging requirements set to take effect on September 1.

As a result of the changes to the new human resources elements of performance for accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals, and ambulatory care organizations, CT technologists will no longer be expected to have advanced-level certification in CT by January 1, 2018, in order to perform diagnostic CT studies, according to the Joint Commission. What's more, the Joint Commission has also decided to suspend implementation of a second new requirement that would have required organizations to demonstrate that CT technologists participate in education that prepares them to achieve advanced-level CT certification by January 1, 2018.

After publishing the new human resources elements of performance earlier this year, the Joint Commission said it received feedback from rural and critical access hospitals on the expectation to achieve advanced-level CT certification by January 2018.

"These customers communicated concerns about their ability to comply with the expectation for advanced-level CT certification and -- if this were to be required by 2018 -- the potential negative impact on patient access to CT services," the Commission wrote in the July issue of The Joint Commission Perspectives.