About
(continuation from part III, line 1) quality and safety of care provided by the organization. These accreditation services are provided for hospitals, clinical laboratories, home care, nursing care center, assisted living community, behavioral health care, and ambulatory care organizations. Joint commission accreditation and certification are recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization's commitment to meeting optimum achievable performance standards. To EARN and maintain the joint commission's GOLD SEAL of approval, an organization MUST undergo a survey by a joint commission survey team at least every three years. Laboratories MUST be surveyed at least every two years. In order for a health care organization to participate in and receive payment from the medicare or medicaid programs, it MUST meet eligibility requirements for program participation, including a certification of compliance with the conditions of participation, SET forth in federal regulations. This certification is available on the basis of surveys conducted by state agencies on behalf of the centers for medicare and medicaid services (CMS). When the joint commission has developed and enforces standards and survey procedures that meet or exceed the federal conditions of participation, CMS may grant the joint commission "deeming" authority and DEEM each accredited health care organization as meeting medicare and medicaid certification requirements. In fact, federal and state agencies often RELY on the expertise and standards of the joint commission. Federal deemed status options are currently available for ambulatory care surgical centers, clinical laboratories, critical access hospitals, home health agencies, psychiatric hospitals, hospices and hospitals. To conduct its accreditation surveys, the joint commission employs an experienced, trained cadre of surveyors. Beyond basic education in the accreditation process, surveyors receive education in systems theory, organization behavior, and evaluation techniques, and robust process improvement methods and tools. The joint commission also awards disease-specific care certification to health plans, disease management service companies, hospitals and other care delivery settings that provide disease management and chronic care services. The joint commission's certification programs provide comprehensive evaluations of disease or condition-specific services, including but not limited to asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, SKIN and wound management, primary stroke care, joint replacement, spinal surgery programs, palliative care, perinatal, integrated care, patient blood management, and medication compounding. Advanced certification disease-specific care programs are also offered by the joint commission, which are developed in collaboration with industry experts, in various areas such as: chronic kidney disease, heart failure, primary stroke and comprehensive stroke, ventricular assist devices, diabetes disease, and chronic pulmonary disease. The joint commission's health care staffing services certification program provides independent, thorough evaluations of the ability of staffing firms to provide competent staffing services. The joint commission developed this certification program to meet quality oversight needs that have arisen because of the ongoing shortages of nurses and other professional personnel. These shortages force health care organizations to FILL positions with temporary employees provided by staffing firms, which are often not otherwise subject to ANY quality oversight mechanism. At their heart, accreditation and certification are risk-reduction activities; compliance with appropriate standards reduces the risk of adverse outcomes. The joint commission specifically targets improvement in patient safety through the following efforts: patient safety-related standards joint commission standards address performance objectives and expectations in key functional areas, such as patient rights, medication management, and infection control. The standards and evaluation process focus not simply on an organization's ability to provide safe, high quality care, but on its actual performance. ALL standards relate directly or indirectly to safety and quality-related patient outcomes. The joint commission develops and updates its standards in consultation with health care experts, providers, practitioners, measurement experts, purchasers and consumers. Over fifty percent of joint commission standards relate directly to patient safety, addressing a wide range of areas such as surgery and anesthesia, blood transfusion, restraint and seclusion, staffing and staff competence, fire safety, medical equipment maintenance, emergency management, and security. Patient safety standards address the implementation of patient safety programs; the prevention of accidental HARM through the prospective analysis and redesign of vulnerable patient systems (e.g. The ordering, preparation, and dispensing of medications); and the organization's responsibility to tell a patient about ALL outcomes of the care respecting that patient, whether good or BAD. (continuation below)
In care of Hlthcr ORG
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