Essay - Accreditation the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals Was the...

Accreditation

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals was the predecessor of the Joint ***** of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and was created to help improve the quality ***** health care and provide physicians a more formal voice in hospital governance (Pawlson and O'Kane, 2002). It was also given authority by the Medicare Act of 1965 to deem hospitals ***** healthcare establishments that are qualified for ***** payments. The JCAHO is responsible for scrut*****izing the quality of health care *****d by approximately 83% ***** hospitals in the country, and a hospital ***** w*****hes to seek JCAHO accreditation must undergo an on-site suvey ***** a JCAHO-trained and certified team triennially. ***** purpose of this survey is not only to evaluate the hospital's environmental and health ***** st*****ards, but also provides the hospital and staff information and guidance to ***** them improve the quality of health care in ********** institutions (Sprague, 2005). Th***** process includes meetings with senior management ***** selected *****givers; medical record review, and; inspection tour ***** the ***** building.

JCAHO examines the hospital's performance based on several standards. These are: Ethics, Rights, and Resp*****sibilities; Provision of Care, Treatment, and Services; Medication Management; Surveillance, Prevention, and Control ***** Infection by ***** medical ********** Improving Organization Performance by nurses, and; Leadership (JCAHO, 2006). Each standard is presented as a series of "Elements of Performance (EP)," expectations that define the framework that ***** surveyors use as a guide to ev*****luate the establ*****hment's performance.

Beca***** of ***** current scrutiny JCAHO and criticisms it has received regarding its subjectivity and lack of concise parameters, many of its ***** have undergone revisions. The Medication Management Standards for 2004 has also undergone major *****. It emphasizes more on medication safety compared ***** previous standards. The definition of *****s ***** ***** revised to any product considered ***** the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a drug, except for enteral nutrient solutions because *****y are ***** food products; oxygen and other *****s of gaseous *****m ***** also not included in this definition. Initially, the process of medication ***** focused on four processes: 1) ordering and prescribing; 2) preparing and dispensing; 3) administration, ***** 4) monitoring. Currently, two considerations have been added: 5) ***** selection and procurement, ********** 6) storage (Rich, 2004). *****se six considerations are fulfilled if required events ***** accomplished (JCAHO, 2006). M***** of the EPs are focused on the easy access of information ***** the patient's medications not only to ***** patient ***** to the health care staff, and complete avoidance of haphazard dispensing and use of *****. For ***** patient response, for example, the medical staff must be trained ***** education with the effects of the medication and the hospital must ***** facilities, such as laboratory ***** diagnostic testing, to help assess the effectiveness or side effects of this prescribed drug. In prescribing a cert*****in medication, the use ***** this drug must be appropriately justified in the form of ***** values, diagnoses, or progress note entries. The justification must be documented ***** the ********** medical record.