Joint Commission Is a Self-Governing, Not-For-Profit Organization,

Joint Commission is a self-governing, not-for-profit organization, that certifies almost 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is known nationwide as a sign of quality that reflects an organization's pledge to meeting certain performance standards (The Joint Commission, 2012). The Joint Commission gets information about accredited organizations not only by way of direct observations by its workers but also through direct communications from those accredited organizations and from measurement companies hired by accredited organizations and accepted by The Joint Commission as sources for performance measure data (Quality Check, 2012).

The Joint Commissions' accreditation standards and National Patient Safety Goals compliance information is founded on conclusions or acceptance of corrective action at particular points in time, and the hospital performance measure ratings portrayed are an indication of performance data that are presented on a quarterly basis and are measured current given best accessible knowledge at the time of posting. The information and data offered should be useful, but are not proposals to utilize any particular organizations services and do not represent medical advice (Quality Check, 2012).

All health care entities, other than laboratories, are put through a three-year accreditation cycle. With regard to hospital surveys, the organization does not make its findings known to the public. However, it does offer the organization's accreditation result, the date that accreditation was granted, and any standards that were mentioned for improvement. Organizations judged to be in fulfillment with all or most of the appropriate standards are awarded the decision of Accreditation. The unannounced complete survey is a key part of The Joint Commission accreditation procedure. "Unannounced means the organization does not get an advance notice of its survey date. Surveys occur 18 to 39 months after the organization's previous unannounced survey" (Accreditation Process Overview, 2011).

A survey is intended to be personalized to each organization, to be regular, and to support the organization's efforts to progress performance. Throughout an accreditation survey, The Joint Commission assesses an organization's presentation of functions and processes intended at constantly improving patient outcomes. "This assessment is accomplished through evaluating an organization's compliance with the applicable standards in the manual, based on the following:

Tracing the care delivered to patients

Verbal and written information provided to The Joint Commission

On-site observations and interviews by Joint Commission surveyors

Documents provided by the organization" (Accreditation Process Overview, 2011).

Getting ready for a Joint Commission survey can be a demanding process for any healthcare provider. At a minimum, a hospital must be totally familiar with the present standards, look at current processes, policies and procedures in relation to the standards and plan to advance any areas that are not presently in fulfillment. The hospital must be in conformity with the standards for at least four months before the initial survey. The hospital should also be in fulfillment with appropriate standards throughout the entire period of accreditation, which means that surveyors will look for a full three years of accomplishment for several standards-related matters (Survey Activity Guide for Health Care Organizations, 2011).

Considerable time and resources are dedicated by health care organizations ranging from medical equipment suppliers and staffing firms to tertiary care academic medical centers to get ready for and go through Joint Commission surveys. There is growing concern, though, over the lack of demonstrable progress towards meeting the organization's stated goals for many. Even though the Joint Commission more and more refers to and demands evidence-based medicine in its regulatory requirements, there is a relative scarcity of evidence signifying any significant quality improvement due to its efforts, while there is a growing body of literature showing no enhancement or actual decline in quality despite the increasingly rigorous and expensive necessities (How can I make the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO/JACHO) process easier, 2012).