other drug use. The performance
measurement sets related to alcohol and
other drugs include screening, brief
interventions, treatment, discharge planning
and follow up.^287 The specifications for the
tobacco cessation performance measures
include screening all patients to identify
tobacco users, providing or offering
evidence-based counseling and medications
for smokers during hospitalization and upon
discharge, and assessing tobacco use 30
days post-discharge.^288 Hospitals are
required to choose four out of 14 possible
core performance measurement sets, with no
requirements about which sets must be
chosen.^289 For each core performance
measurement set that the hospital chooses,
the hospital is held accountable for
collecting data and measuring performance
related to the activities associated with the
set. However, other sets of measures that
hospitals may choose to be held accountable
for include those that they already perform
routinely, limiting the reach of this
promising development which would require
more effort and resources than most other
measurement sets.^290
Our perspective is that, although tactically
impressive, the [Joint Commission’s]
measure set [regarding tobacco screening and
cessation services] is strategically flawed
because its adoption is optional.^291--Fiore, M.C., Goplerud, E., &
Schroeder, S. A. (2012)If the Joint Commission would require
hospitals to report their outcomes on SBIRT,
it could do more to medicalize how we deal
with risky substance use than all the urging
and pleading we’ve undertaken for the past
25 to 30 years.^292--Larry M. Gentilello, MD
Trauma Services
Kaiser Permanente Hospital
Sacramento, CA