The Accreditation of Health Organizations by the Joint Commission

The United States Joint Commission is an independent and nonprofit organization that that administers health accreditation programs not only hospitals but also other health-related organizations. The joint commission aims to develop performances and quality standards that indeed address the critical elements related to health and wellbeing. Among the main operations and programs accredited the joint commission include Health Information Technology, medication and patient safety, control of infections as well as the protection of consumer rights. All state governments in America requires all hospitals and health organization be accredited by the joint commission as a way of licensing and approving their Medicaid operations and reimbursements (Joint Commission, 2018). This means that all hospitals, health organizations, and private health providers must be accredited and licensed by the joint commission.

As a way of ensuring and guaranteeing compliance with their requirements, the Joint commission sends surveyors after every 39 months to evaluate standard and quality compliance. The accreditation survey is a continuous inspection done by the joint commission by sending surveyors, who are highly trained doctors, health administrators, nurses, among other health professionals to inspect the quality and standard compliance of the accredited bodies (Joint Commission, 2018).  Standards, in this case, focus on the dissemination of quality health care services and patient safety. They are updated on a regular basis to reflect the dynamic changes in medicine and healthcare advancements.

Before accrediting a hospital, health organization, or a private health provider, the joint commission takes two weeks to two months after the site survey to render its accreditation decisions. After the accreditation is awarded, it goes for up to three years before expiring with the exception of laboratory operation, whose certification takes up to a maximum of two years (Joint Commission, 2018). Finally, the information for all health care organizations accredited by the Joint Commission as well as the related quality reports are available online via the qualitycheck.org website (Joint Commission, 2018). Most of the data include the Accreditation decisions, the accredited programs and services, patient safety and performance data, quality improvements objectives, performance goals, and the quality awards.

Works Cited

“About The Joint Commission”. Jointcommission.Org, 2018, https://www.jointcommission.org/about/jointcommissionfaqs.aspx#2323. Accessed 24 Sept 2018.