The Joint Commission forward Accred...

The Joint Commission forward Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is implementing significant changes to its accreditation proces for health care organizations, according to an Oct 3 2002 just discovereds release from the Joint Commission. The "Shared Visions-New Pathways" initiative ruminates input from health care organizations and guide stake holders and will shift the focus of the accreditation proces from review preparation to operations and internal hypothesiss that directly affect the quality and safety of patient care.

novel components of the accreditation proces include

* a required midcycle, self-assessment during which the health care organization evaluates its compliance with applicable standards and disentangles plans to correct identified areas of noncompliance;

* an automated presurvey review of organization-specific information (eg sentinel fact data) to identify critical processe relevant to patient safety and health care quality;

* consolidation of the standards to decrease the paperwork and documentation tonnage of the survey process;

* an on-site evaluation of standards compliance in relation to the care experience of patients;

* revision of individual organization performance reports to provide performance information not portrayed in existing reports; and

* active involvement of physicians in the recent accreditation process.

Accreditation proces changes will take place during the nearest one and one-half to brace years. A special edition of Perspectives, JCAHO's official newsletter that discusses the of recent origin process is available on JCAHO's resources' web site at http://www.jcrinc. com/perspectives. Questions about the initiative may be sent via e-mail to sharedvisions@jcaho.org.

Joint Commission first attempts New Accreditation Process: "Shared Vision--New Pathways' (new release, Oakbrook Terrace, III: Joint Commission upon Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Oct 3 2002) http:/www.jcaho .org/News+Room/News+Release+Achives/svnp_nr.htm (accessed 21 Oct 2002)

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