This spring, The Joint Commission reversed its ban on texting medical orders, citing critical improvements in the technology’s security. The accreditor has now announced it will delay the repeal until it can create additional guidance on appropriate texting policies, according to an article in the July issue of Joint Commission Perspectives.

The Joint Commission and CMS have announced that they are working on additional guidance on texting policies for medical orders and hope to have a set of FAQs on creating an appropriate medical texting policy by September 2016. The new guidance will mesh with Medicare’s Conditions of Participation and will supplement the recommendations made in the May issue of Perspectives regarding texting.