Health Care -- Licensing, Accreditation and Certification

Health Care -- Licensing, Accreditation and Certification -- Case Assignment King/Drew Medical Center

JCAHO accreditation is a formal "seal of approval" by an authorized organization while JCAHO certification is a "gold seal of approval" by a private arm of JCAHO given for adherence to high national standards. Both types of recognition provide numerous benefits and notable disadvantages, some of which overlap. A cautionary tale about official approval and the loss of it is provided by King/Drew Medical Center, which was eventually forced out of business. Fortunately, the underserved population of South Los Angeles County that was formerly served by King/Drew looks forward to the 2013 opening of the Martin Luther King-Harbor Hospital.

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Accreditation and Certification, Their Relative Significance, As Well As Advantages and Disadvantages

Accreditation

Accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) is a formal "seal of approval" for health care organizations meeting uniform national standards by an authorized organization. Accreditation is often deemed voluntary but is critical for certain funding and for public relations (Ornstein, 2005). The JCAHO web site outlines several advantages of accreditation, including: assisting in the organization and strengthening of safety measures for patients; enhancing the community's regard for the health care organization; improving business by providing a marketing tool for health care organizations associated with and approved by the highly regarded JCAHO; assist in continual up-to-date improvements in safety and care quality; reduce the cost of liability insurance; provide services through "Joint Commission Resources" for ongoing education and support of health care services; furnishing professional advice and education by "Joint Commission surveyors"; providing exhausting reviews tailored to a health care organization's specialties; attracting and developing high-quality staff; satisfying some requirements for Medicare/Medicaid (Medi-Cal) certification; providing a requisite qualification for insurance contracts and partnership in managed care plans and contracts; meeting some State requirements for doing business as a health care provider; providing modern tools and standards with which a health care organization can measure its performance compared to other health care organizations (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, 2012).

Certification

Certification is a "gold seal of approval" granted to a health care organization by a private organization, or a private arm of an organization -- here, JCAHO - when the health care organization adheres to rigorous uniform national standards (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, 2012). The JCAHO web site lists several benefits of certification, including: maintaining a consistent, nationally-accepted standard of care; giving a specific structure for maintaining and improving management; setting objective standards for a health care organization's assessment of its programs and structures; validation of staff skills and performance; bolstering a "culture of excellence" and recognizing achievement in the health care organization; providing an effective marketing tool for the health care organizations maintenance of existing business and development of new business; enhancing the community's regard for the health care organization; satisfying some requirements for Medicare/Medicaid (Medi-Cal) certification; providing a requisite qualification for insurance contracts and partnership in managed care plans and contracts; providing a requisite qualification for insurance contracts and partnership in managed care plans and contracts; meeting some State requirements for doing business as a health care provider.

The disadvantages of certification mirror those of accreditation, just as some advantages of certification mirror the advantages of accreditation. Both accreditation and certification involve significant expenditures of funds, time and other resources: JCAHO charges tens of thousands of dollars in survey fees; a health care facility must also prepare its staff, hire consultants, engage in mock inspections and prepare for actual inspections (Kelly, 2000). Clearly, obtaining accreditation, certification, or both involve considerable commitment of a health care organization's resources.

Deficiencies at King/Drew That Resulted In the Problems and Current Status/Prognosis for King/Drew

King/Drew was the Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School, established in 1966, which joined forces with the Martin Luther King General Hospital, constructed across the street in 1972 (Calderon & Beltran, 2004). Consequently, the King/Drew Medical Center (KDMC) is deemed to have opened in 1972 (Mitchell, 2006). KDMC included a 2-year medical school and a hospital located in Willowbrook (Mitchell, 2006), south of Watts (Weber, Ornstein, & Leonard, 2007) and serving mostly poor and minority residents of Watts, Compton, Willowbrook, South Central and Lynwood in South Los Angeles (Ornstein, 2005). In its decades of existence, KDMC trained thousands of doctors, served millions of people and saved thousands of lives (Calderon & Beltran, 2004).