The Importance Of Accreditation In Healthcare

"To continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value” (Jointcommission.org, 2015). These requirements are regimented in the National Patient Safety Goals and are enforced via surveys and internal inspections to ensure that healthcare institutions abide by the safety mechanisms put in place to facilitate the optimal patient outcomes and environments.

External and internal influences are relevant in health care. These influences continue to affect the total operations of a health care facility. I will summarize the insights I have gained into the external influences of the new health care reform policy and quality initiatives. The recent health care reform legislation was passed in the house and senate this year. The senior vice president, that I have interviewed, states that health care reform is an “unknown” for organizations. In addition, I will research the quality improvement initiatives and how these external influences include implications for organizations and health care administrators.

By 2001 it was brutally apparent that the U.S. Health Care system was in dire need of a reform in regards to quality and patient safety. Following two separate reports issued by The Institute of Medicine (IOM), To Err is Human (1999) and Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health Care System for the 21st Century(2001) the U.S. Congress requested the IOM review quality processes across multiple government funded health care programs. And understandably, “these reports described America’s healthcare system as a tangled, highly fragmented web that often wastes resources by duplicating efforts, leaving unaccountable gaps in coverage, and failing to build on the strengths of all health professionals” (Brown J., p. I – 15, 2013). Thus, the Committee on the Quality of Health Care in America released 6 aims to address key dimensions that require improvement in our health care system. These aims propose that our system needs to strive to be more Safe, Effective, Patient-Centered, Timely, Efficient, and Equitable (STEEEP). All of which were created to help overhaul our current health care system and, more importantly, narrow the quality chasm.

When people think of health care, they often think up images from their own experiences in doctors' offices, clinics, and hospitals. Then there are the images of intense drama and hustling and bustling in hospitals and emergency rooms such as those presented on television and in the movies. These are all part of the health care arena, but it extends far beyond the emergency room. Health care agencies and governmental agencies mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of

healthcare organization accrediting bodies, and to maintain credibility with patients and peers alike, must adhere to the National Patient Safety Goals. As stated by Ulrich and Kear (2014), "Not only are nurses responsible for providing safe patient care, we are also responsible for creating an environment in which others can provide safe patient care, and for being the last line of defense when needed between the patient and potential harm. Having a deep understanding of patient safety and patient safety culture allows nurses to be the leaders we need to be in ensuring that our patients are always

In addition residents of new medical programs are being trained to be educated of maintaining quality care and implementing systems to reduce errors and improve quality of care ( Shojania & Levinson, 2009). As stated by the authors, faculty must be educated to provide the education essential to the needs to improve quality care and implement QI standards of teaching to ensure the highest standard of care. Finally, the patient must be held accountable to ensure they are as proactive as possible to receive the most efficient care possible, as well as cost effective care.

“While accreditation is technically a voluntary process, through which accrediting bodies like The Joint Commission visit a facility to perform quality and process checks, it is also relied upon by state agencies in all fifty states in lieu of specific state licensure requirements (Hay, n.d.).” All organizations must meet certain standards in order to even open its doors. It is very important for healthcare organizations to be accredited by someone. The Joint Commission is the most popular and well known. Facilities that are accredited by someone other than The Joint Commission many not give the highest care which leads to more readmissions costing more. “In a retrospective analysis at 24 accredited trauma centers in the United States, accreditation was significantly associated with higher survival rates for patients presenting with six types of trauma injuries (Alkhenizan,

The Joint Commission has instituted a number of goals nationally; the aim is to improve patient’s safety. The goals selected look at areas that are of concern in the healthcare industry particularly how it affect patients safety and make recommendations how to reduce if not eradicated these. The Joint Commission is the governing body that accredited hospitals and other health care organizations. The two hospitals that this paper will be comparing, using the goals and criteria recommended by the Joint commission, is Holy Cross Hospital located at 1500 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, MD and Shady Grove Hospital situated at, 9901 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD.

Accreditation provides a competitive advantage in the health care industry and strengthens community confidence in safety of care and treatment. Accredited hospitals provide higher quality of care to patients. It improves risk management and risk reduction and helps in organizing and strengthens patient safety efforts. It enhances recruitment and staff education and provides education on god practices to improve healthcare operations. The paper discusses how The Joint Commission assists in having better outcomes in terms of safety in Western Medical Center Hospital. In today’s society, every health care organization should provide a proof of accreditation and are subject to a three-year accreditation cycle. The Commission develops performance standards that address some of the important elements of operation, such as patient care, infection control, medication safety, and patient rights.

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

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

Patients want and expect to receive high quality care. Nurses want to provide the best care possible to their patients and like everybody else; want a pleasing job environment. Hospitals, on the other hand, are expected to provide a safe environment to patients, have enough nursing staff and remain profitable (Keller, Dulle, Kwiecinski, Altimier & Owens, 2013). The ultimate goal is to improve quality of care and patient safety across the United States; therefore, all the different interests of these major stakeholders should be taken into

Survey of patient’s experiences is important source of information of the quality of health care provided by the particular hospital, which allows patients to compare the hospitals in the area. The HCAHPS star rating of Gulf Coast Hospital and Bay Medical Center is two stars, while Sacred Heart Hospital is rated with four stars on the excellence of care. The outliner indicators for Gulf Coast Medical Center in the survey of patients’ experiences on the question: “How often did patients receive help quickly from the hospital staff?” shows that 74% patients pick the answer “always communicated well”, that is slightly lower than national average with 79%. The survey question “How often were the patients’ rooms and bathrooms kept clean” only 61% of the patients pick that their bathroom and room were “always clean” that is much lower than the national average 74% and only 47% of the patients understood the care that was provided when they were

In this essay, we will explore the course goals, which I achieved by completing the course assignments and discussion posts. Therefore, we will discuss the driving forces that promotes a patient safe culture. Also, we will discuss the interdisciplinary team and their contribution has an impact on improving the quality of care delivered to patients. Also, we will discuss evidence-based practice and the importance of the nurse leaders to increase their knowledge in interpreting research and why different approaches may be utilized. Also, we will discuss quality management how it may improve patient care and how it is utilized by the nurse leaders. Also, we will explore healthcare informatics and the impact it has had on the healthcare system.

Quality is one of the most essential elements of healthcare. As stated by the Agency of Health Research and Quality, “Everyday, millions of Americans receive high-quality health care that helps to maintain or restore their health and ability to function” (Agency of Health Research and Quality, 2014). Improvements have become vital to the success of health care organizations and in the Healthcare Quality Book, it is explained that quality in the U.S. healthcare system is not at the standard that it should be (Ransom, Joshi, Nash & Ransom, 2008). Although this has been a reoccurring issue, attempts to fix the insufficiency have been less successful than expected.