JCAHO accreditation

Omission errors, incorrect doses, and prescribing errors were the top three causes of medication errors reported by health systems in 2002. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) tracks sentinel events submitted to it by accredited heathcare facilities. A sentinel event is an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk thereof. Table 16.3 lisfs fhe roof causes of medication errors reported by JCAHO-accredited organizations. ... 

With Medicare s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, also known as Medicare Part A, workers make required contributions to the fund while fhey are employed. Upon retirement, workers receive health care benefits. By law, employers and their employees are required to pay equal portions of a payroll tax, which totals 2.9% of earned income.In 1997, almost 90% of the trust fund s income was from payroll taxes. The remaining income was generated from fhe inferesf earned from the trust fund. A beneficiary s Medicare Parf A insurance is limifed to only those hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). The JCAHO accreditation standards include explicit and extensive professional pharmacy acfivifies, indirectly supporting professional trends for clinical pracfice (see Chapfer 18). 

The JCAHO review process tor hospitals (and other JCAHO-accredited programs) is evolving trom an onsite review process, which normally occurs every 3 years, to a process ot continuous assessment ot quality and patient outcomes. It is a major challenge tor hospitals and pharmacy managers to keep up with new initiatives, changing areas ot tocus, and procedural changes in the review process. ... 

The following are specific areas of focus for the JCAHO that are important to pharmacists practicing in hospitals. Many of these activities have similar applications and expectations as the JCAHO-accredited programs noted previously. 

A key public service of the JCAHO is a comprehensive guide to help individuals learn more about the safety and quality of JCAHO-accredited health care organizations and programs throughout the U.S. This guide. Quality Check , includes each organization s name, address, telephone number, accreditation decision, accreditation date, current accreditation status and effective date, and its most recent performance report. 

For-profit home infusion providers range from singlesite, private companies to multiple-site, million-dollar companies. All home care providers are licensed by the state and can chose to become accredited by several accrediting bodies (e.g.. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC), Community Healthcare Accreditation Program (CHAP)). Accreditation is a requirement for many insurance companies to serve as a provider for their members. 

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is a private, voluntary, not-for-profit organization that serves as a gatekeeper for health care quality and safety. Currently, more than 19,000 health care organizations in the United States and many other countries are JCAHO accredited. Since its earliest inceptions almost 50 years ago, JCAHO has striven to establish health care standards and performance measures. The mission of JCAHO is to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. 

Currently, JCAHO accredits the following types of organizations ... 

The goal of the JCAHO accreditation process is that it will continue to be standards driven with an increased emphasis on continuous data. In the last few years, the JCAHO accreditation process—in particular, for hospitals—has been challenged. Payers continue to challenge the value of the accreditation process cost versus quality. As health care organizations continue to evolve, change, and consolidate, so must JCAHO evolve, change, and consolidate. 

JCAHO Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations K+ potassium... 

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Pain Assessment and Management an Organizational Approach. Oakbrook Terrace, IL JCAHO,2000 1-6. 

The Joint Commission (TJC). 2003. www.jcaho.org/ accredited + organizations/patient + safety/npsg / npsg 03.htm accessed on April 30, 2003. 

NFPA 99137 governs all health care occupancies, in conjunction with the Life Safety Code and the National Electrical Code. In fact virtually all hospitals, and the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which regulates hospitals, use the combination mentioned earlier almost without any other consideration. 

Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). 1995 Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals. JCAHO, Oakbrook Terrace, IL, 1994. 

Source From JCAHO Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals The Official Handbook, Update 4, November 2000, GL-22. 

The JCAHO annually publishes six national patient safety goals and surveys the accredited organizations related to them. The initial six goals include several medication-related safety improvements ... 

Traditionally, teams of surveyors trained and employed by the JCAHO were scheduled to visit facilities pursuing accreditation. Hospital surveys scheduled... 

The only thing certain about the survey process is that the methods and areas surveyed will continue to change to reflect current standards of care in order to assure quality and safety of patient care provided by accredited organizations. Pharmacists can expect that the JCAHO views them as critical members of the patient care team and integral to ensuring safe and effective... 

At present, no distinct accreditation programs for community pharmacies exist. The only community pharmacies involved in accreditation processes are those that have implemented accredited community pharmacy residency programs or those participating in the JCAHO home care accreditation program. 

Medication management, http //www.jcaho.org/accredited+organi-... 

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