JOINT COMMISSION AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

The Role of the Joint Commission on Accreditation on Healthcare Organizations in Long Term Care Quality Assurance

The Role of the Joint Commission on Accreditation on Healthcare Organizations in Long Term Care Quality Assurance

Introduction

Quality of healthcare refers to the degree to which healthcare services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes that are consistent with current professional knowledge. To improve the quality of healthcare, many evaluation and standardization practices have been developed. This entry discusses several aspects of healthcare quality, including the history of healthcare quality evaluation, the major organizations and programs created to increase the quality of healthcare, the role of academe in the quality of healthcare, evaluation phases, and incentives for improving quality. (DeLorenzo, 2005)

For 35 years the ACS conducted its Hospital Standardization Program, using as surveyors its own members who volunteered their services. Over the years, it became obvious that the logistical and financial burdens of a single-organization volunteer program had become too great for the ACS to support on its own. In 1952, the ACS was joined by the American College of Physicians (ACP), American Hospital Association (AHA), American Medical Association (AMA), and Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in forming the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH). A few years later, the CMA withdrew to become a founding member of the new Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation (CCHA). (Roberts, 1987)

The growth of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) during the 1980s spurred the development of managed-care organizations and large multispecialty group practices. In 1990, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) was established. The mission of the NCQA was to develop performance standards and conduct accreditation surveys of managed-care organizations.

Discussion and Analysis

With the development of the minimum standards by the ACS, for the first time hospitals were evaluated ...