Internal Medicine Board Certification Requirements

Eventually, the minimum standards evolved and began to encompass physical safety, equipment and administrative standards. Survey teams started to branch out across the nation in an attempt to keep up with the increased demand for accreditation. As a result, the American College of Physicians, the AMA, and the Canadian Medical Association joined the ACS to form an independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals in

A committee was formed to begin work on a guided home study course. AMA/AAMA filed a petition with the U.S. Office of Education seeking recognition as the official accrediting agency for medical assisting programs.

In order to become a General Internist, a student must go through medical school. Before they can enter medical school, students must receive a bachelor's degree. As they are

The roots of The Joint Commission began in the American College of Surgeons (ACS), founded in 1913, which eventually lead to voluntary onsite inspections of hospitals in 1918. In 1951, The American College of Physicians, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and the Canadian Medical Association joined forces with the ACS to create the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH). JCAH was formed as an independent, not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose was to provide voluntary accreditation for meeting established minimum quality standards. It was not until 1970 that the standards of quality were reformed to represent the highest achievable levels, instead of minimum necessary levels. In 1987, the company was renamed the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which was shortened to today’s The Joint Commission after rebranding in 2007. (Stanberry, 2012)

Although the accreditation can be required for insurance in some states, it is not the only non-profit organization that supplies accreditation to health facilities (Alkhenizan, 2011). Other options include the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, American Osteopathic Association, Accreditation Commission for Health Care Inc, and many others (Alkhenizan, 2011). The standards the accredited hospitals are held to are public knowledge. On their website, the have all of the things that they look for when they go to inspect the facilities and laboratories. This means that any hospital that is not accredited can look online and be proactive in taking their advice (The Joint Commission, 2016). For example, the Commission stated the record standards and said that whether a hospital is accredited or not and whether they have paper files or computer files, great care must be taken when keeping a standard in the record and when switching from written to typed records (Showalter, 2012). So, even though some hospitals are not accredited they can still enact the Commission's standards and take it upon themselves to be proactive about patient safety. The Joint Commission set the standard for care even when not accredited it pushes other facilities to be better in order to

At present, the accreditation is a process of review that health care organizations participate in to display the ability to meet approved criteria and standards of accreditation. Accreditation represents agencies as credible and reputable organizations dedicated to ongoing and continuous compliance with the highest standard of quality. Professional accrediting agency work together with the health care industry experts to create standards to ensure that quality is maintained throughout all aspects of an organization (Accreditation Commission for Health Care, 2008; Greenfield, Pawsey & Braithwaite, 2010). However, the on-site surveys are conducted, today unannounced, by health care industry experts. A inclusive review is conducted of organizational structure, policies and procedures, compliance with federal, state, and local laws, leadership, patients’ rights and responsibilities, fiscal operations, human resource management, provision of

These exams are very important because they want to make sure you fully understand what you are doing on the medical field. You have to understand everything because if you don't you will be

The Joint Commission is an independent not for profit group that provides as the accreditation issuer within the United States. “…The Joint Commission accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States” (Commission, 2017). Its purpose is to develop performance standards for accreditation programs that hospitals and other healthcare related organizations are required to pass to receive accreditation from the Joint Commission. These specifications are affirmed upon addressing vital elements of the daily operation that involve patient care, medication safety, infection control, and patient's rights. The importance

The education background is there so that you know the medical language of the field. Having the ability to know what the body consists of and how it functions. This will help with reading a patients chart and knowing what codes to use for services provide to the patient. A hospital would not want to hire me if I did not have the right training and education background; over a person who has the training, knowledge, and education. Many courses that need to be completed is a follows: health information, insurance, medical law & ethics, coding and billing, reimbursement. You have to know medical terminology which is the language the doctor uses and this will allow you to know what to code and bill. Anatomy & Physiology which is the structures of the body and how they work. You have to know pharmacology which is what pharmacy workers need to know when disbursing medication. You have to know Pathophysiology which is diseases and how they work. This is good for an MRT person to know so that they know how to interpret when it shows up on a patients chart. When completing all of these courses it is good to have an externship ready and think about shadowing someone in the career.

The two agencies that were interviewed have some differences in developing policies and procedures as well as some similarities. University Medical Center at Brackenridge (UMCB) is local organization; whereas, ST. David Medical Center operates under Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) organization which has multiple hospitals and surgery centers in 21 States. UMCB policies are not officially regulated according to current evidences; however, the hospital librarians’ researches on current evidence based articles and pass that information to physicians and nurses. On the other hand, HCA make their policies using current evidence based studies as well as conducts their own limited trials. UMBC uses all types of evidences and stakeholders (Physicians,

The Joint Commission is currently the leader in creating and implementing the greatest standards for safety and quality in health care delivery and organizational performance evaluation. Currently, a majority of healthcare organizations use the standards developed by the JC as a guide for how to manage care and improve quality and safety standards. Due to this reputation, the Joint Commission is the only accrediting establishment with the abilities to appraise healthcare organizations. Accreditation is an acknowledgement of proficiency and compliance that can be given to an entire healthcare organization. This includes nursing homes, hospitals, home healthcare providers, and outpatient surgery establishments. Certification on the other hand

The Joint Commission is the oldest accrediting body in health care. Founded in 1951, it continues to improve health care for the public. The roots of The Joint Commission date back to 1918 where a group of surgeons led voluntary onsite hospital inspections (www.jointcommission.org). Accreditation is used to verify that certain organizations have an appropriate quality management system and can properly perform certain test methods according to their specialty. The terms accreditation and certification are used interchangeably but are not the same. Certification refers to verifying certain credentials met by personnel or to verify that some products meet certain

The American Medical Association is just what is says, an "association". They do not have sanctions to regulate because they are not an agency. The American Medical Association consists o paying members and they offer incentives and benefits such as insurance. They also publish the Journal of the American Medical Association and is one of the nation's wealthiest associations.

The Cleveland Clinic is accredited by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Joint Commission to include the Ohio Department of Health. Also, the clinic has specialty accreditations to include the following, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), American Board for Certification Orthotics and Prosthetics, American College of Surgeons Bariatric Surgery Center Network, American Society for Bariatric Surgery, American Standards of Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics (ASHI), COLA - Laboratory Accreditation, College of American Pathologists (CAP), Commission on Accreditation/Approval for Dietetics Education, Commission of Dental Accreditation (CODA), and a whole list of other specialty accreditations.

After completion of medical school studies, the medical doctors must pass their State’s Medical Licensing Examination. This exam is conducted in three parts to ensure that the medical doctors understand the scientific principles that are essential to practice medicine and posses the patient care skills.