Joint Commission Essay

The Joint Commission

The Joint Commission is an autonomous and non-profit organization in the United States that specifically oversees charitable accreditation programs for healthcare bodies and hospitals. These organization works by developing performance standards that aims to address critical elements of the healthcare operations, including medication safety, patient care, consumer rights and infection control. As a trusted body in the U.S. healthcare systems, most state administrations mandate healthcare organizations to receive Joint Commission’s accreditation as a prerequisite for licensing as well as Medicaid refund. Its accreditation as well as certification has gained a nationwide recognition as an emblem of quality that mirrors its

solid commitment to meet certain standards of performance in the healthcare system. This paper will primarily seek to enlighten the about the Joint Commission by stating its purpose, history and the process of accreditation.
The Joint Commission’s mission is a continuous pursuit for improved healthcare for the general public, in partnering with other independent stakeholders, by assessing health care institutions and motivating them to excel in providing effective and safe care of the utmost value and quality. The commission drives on a vision statement echoing that all people must always experience the maximum quality, safest, best value health care services across all healthcare settings (The Joint Commission, 2018).
The history of the Joint Commission runs back to 1951 when it was founded with the sole objective of continuously improving the health care system for the public.

In order to achieve this, it works hand in hand with other healthcare stakeholders, to evaluate healthcare organizations across several states and inspire them to excel in their provision for effective and safe care of the utmost value and quality. It initially started as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. It commenced accreditation hospitals in 1953. In 1965, Congress passed the Social Security Amendments that stipulated that hospitals accredited by JCAH were allowed to take part in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. It later changes its name in 1987 to being the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). The JCAHO was later in 2007 shortened to simply be the Joint

Commission.
The organization assesses and accredits more than twenty thousand healthcare bodies and programs across the United States. As an autonomous and charitable foundation, the Joint Commission prides itself n being the nation’s largest and oldest accrediting and standard setting organization in the health care. For any organization to earn as well as preserve the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission, it must first be subjected to an on-site inspection by a survey team from the Joint Commission at least once in every three years and a mandatory laboratory review every second year (History, 2018).
The centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) appreciates and validates the surveys conducted by the Joint Commission, implying that health care organizations that have received Joint Commission’s accreditation can contribute in the federal Medicare agenda.

Those that haven’t been surveyed by the Joint Commission or any existing accreditation group can opt for a CMS assessment as part of the membership requirements for Medicare.

The Joint Commission assessments are specifically premeditated for organizations and are set to guide and review an organization’s overall performance and certain areas as treatment, patient safety and quality care. From the first eighteen to thirty-six months following a full survey by the Joint Commission, organizations that are already accredited can be subject to random surveys.

The standards stipulated by the Joint Commission function as the basic for all healthcare organizations to weigh themselves and improve their performance. These outlined standards by the commission focus exclusively on patient safety and quality care. The Commission utilizes customer feedbacks and interactions with them, government agencies and professionals in the healthcare to formulate standard criteria. The standards must first go through a detailed and thorough process of development that includes dialogue with advisors in the healthcare field, preparations of standard’s drafts and external experts’ drafts. Forthcoming standards are then published on the websites

belonging to the Joint Commission and presented for public opinions and comments before they are approved by the commission’s board of officials.
The Joint Commission can only accredit certain types of organizations including: general, children’s, psychiatric, critical access clinics and rehabilitations; Home care bodies, including pharmacy, medical equipment services and hospice services; nursing homes along with other long term care-giving facilities; behavioral healthcare bodies and addictions services; ambulatory care givers, including corporal practices and office-based surgical practices; autonomous and freestanding clinical labs. Additionally, the Joint Commission also certifies certain services administered in healthcare institutions. They include specific disease care certification; advanced certification in disease specific care as well as palliative care; health care staff services certification; behavioral health as well as basic care medical home certificate.
The Joint Commission operates alongside a body of corporate members that include the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Physicians, the American Dental Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Hospital Association. The Organization is overseen by a board of representatives including the administrators, a consumer advocate, educators, employers, quality experts along with nurses and doctors. The Joint Commission Resources is a worldwide affiliate body that oversees the duties of the Joint Commission International. This Joint Commission International partners with several other healthcare organizations across the globe to with the objective of aiding them to improve and advance the safety and quality patient care services. It accomplishes this by providing assistance in advice, certification and accreditation. The Joint Commission International was founded by the Joint Commission in 1994 (Rouse & DelVecchio, 2018).