Accreditation in Health Care

Accreditation in Health Care

            According to Mosadeghrad and Yousefinezhadi (2017), accreditation is the procedure of retrieval that enables healthcare organizations to exercise their strength to achieve standards and regulatory requirements made by authorized accreditation organizations like ACHC.  It reflects an organization’s willingness and dedication to meet stands that demonstrate a higher standard of care to patients and performance. Accreditation is a tool that is used to measure the quality of an institution. Coming up with a certification enables an organization to determine its strengths and areas that they need to improve.

This is a voluntary initiative that trains external group reviewers who evaluate a healthcare organization’s adherence and relate it to pre-established performance standards. This program is a non-governmental institution. The accreditation process is beneficial when combined with both supportive consultation and evaluation so that to help hospitals and other medical institutions to improve their standards. The effectiveness of this program depends on the voluntary nature, interactive procedure, and non-threatening process with external reviewers as a way of ratcheting and effecting quality improvements.

When this program is undertaken with crucial management, excellent government assistance, and institutional commitments can boost the quality of care existing in medical laboratories and hospitals in developing nations. Accreditation plays an essential role in standard community information to individuals and collective purchasers and boosting efficiency in the health department. This program has a role in increasing the all quality of health department by giving both feedback and information on standards on organization essential to provide quality improvements (Mosadeghrad and Yousefinezhadi 2017),

Accreditation Requirements

The first requirement of accreditation is the philosophy and mission of the program should be determined. From Bender (2017), the program requires to know the accrediting body, whether non-governmental or governmental program. It expects to establish the may decision-maker during the assessment of the program. It involves health officers to be in charge of playing a pivotal role in quality development and interpretation so that to ensure there is a commitment to the objectives and goals of the accreditation program.  It is also vital to think if accreditation can be voluntary or follow regulations and if reimbursement or funding can be associated with certification.

Measurable standards, objective, and relevant are vital when the desired improvement in healthcare standards is to be achieved. Accreditation qualities, as opposed to minimum licensure standards made to preserve public safety, it should promote health care institutions to keep improving the quality of health to achieve the intended goal.  The programs require to attain the utilization of limited resources. It is primarily to take into consideration the developing nations where resources are limited and can affect an institution’s ability to achieve optimal performance (Bender, 2017).

The other requirement is the management of operations.  It requires training, supervision, and consultation with the health care institution.  The program involves peer reviewers to supervise the program. There should be a monitoring of the ongoing practice of surveyors.  The application should access the standard performance. It should have policies concerning public disclosure of accreditation findings.

Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance

Compare and contrast accreditation and regulation requirements

According to Samuel (2016), certification and regulation are not similar. Controls include rules which should be followed. While accreditation is a document of approval certifying that an institution has attained specific qualities. In healthcare, certification is randomly so crucial that a lot of accreditation requirements pose similar power as regulation. Accreditation is viewed to be extremely useful in enhancing perfect practices than State needed public awareness and error reporting. In many health centers, accreditation requirements are the first driver of safety efforts. Accreditation is taken as a basement. Staff in the veterans’ health administration set goals that pass accreditation requirements, and more health sectors have voluntarily implemented more response teams and other optional enhancement of care.

The regulation requires attaining the minimum country health and safety requirements to guide the family home care. The state needs people to have a license as a way of caring for children. The regulation requires one to pay a fee.  The contrast between accreditation and management is the state control licensing, while the National Association for Family Child Care is in control.  The accreditation process is gradual. Regulation involves a written document done by the third party of the product conformity or operation of a specified requirement. Accreditation, on the other end, is the formal acknowledgment by an authoritative organization of competence to work of a determined standard.  Regulation is the third-party preference of an institution’s structure, while accreditation is an independent third preference of certification (Samuel, 2016).

Detail how accreditation helps health care organizations meet regulatory requirements.

The accreditation of health centers is to ensure quality and improve health services, as it brings reforms to improve the quality of the services offered. Hospitals take large portion health systems and are a vital representation for the public and decision making in many countries. Accreditation of health centers is a form of promoting quality health care and the exchange of expertise globally. Determined objectives of hospital accreditation are typically established by the type of public health system and its procedures. Accreditation organizations work with health care practitioners to strengthen quality health requirements, the organization, develop some sections that work in the attainment of some provisions in a health organization. (Goff, et al. 2017).

• Commission about cancer: is a program established by the American College of Surgeons which is committed to improving the quality and livelihood of life to cancer patients.
• Public Health Accreditation Board: this is a nonprofit institution directed at boosting and preserving the health of the public through expanding public health sectors.
• Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program: this program removed the prescriptive determinants at their elements and structured their mandate for the suppliers and institutions to deal with their clinical work procedures to attain their essential business among their patient market.
• DNV GL healthcare certification and Accreditation.

According to Goff et al. (2017), the mandate of accreditation is to protect public health sectors from being marginalized by trading firms and international health programs. The certification will ensure that all health centers, either public or private, are doing their role as accreditation requirements according to national health policies. It provides the guidelines with a compressive system which protects the principles of health.

Joint Commission Standards

This commission is an American based nonprofit and does not impose the tax. Most of the States in American recognize this commission as a program of licensure for the provision of Medicare. It refers to primary objectives used in the evaluation process which assist health care institutions in assessing, measure, and improves its performance. These standards are directed mostly to a too sick person. Resident health care and institutions functions which are vital to providing secure, perfect quality care. This institution sets the expectations for the institution’s performance, which are achievable and reasonable (Goff et al. 2017).

Analyze the essential Joint Commission standards that apply to this organization.

According to Goff et al. (2017), the commission evaluates and rates more than 16000 healthcare institutions and programs in American. It is the body that regulates the standards accrediting organization in health care.  This commission has some set standards that address the performance of the hospital in specific regions and specifies the requirement to stand in the position that patients care is offered in a secure wat in a safe environment. This commission established its standards in collaboration with health care experts, suppliers, and researchers. The rules are the background of an objective appraisal process for health care institutions, which can assist improve institution performance, assessment, and measure. The standards aim at a specific patient, residential care, or client and institution functions that are important to providing the best care in a secure environment.

Performance and standard measurement

According to Cumming and Miller (2019), the commission standard addresses the institutional level of performance in the main working areas such as infection control, patients’ rights, and patient’s treatment. It does not only focus on the institution able to provide quality care but also on its performance. The established standards determine the performance expectations for the work that influence the quality and safety of the sick person.

Standards development procedure

The Joint organization is established together with inputs from providers, consumers, government, and health care experts. Some of the processes of developing standards include;

• Preparation of draft document of rules by incorporating inputs from experts and external workforce.
• We are reviewing the drafted standards by advisories and field experts.
• The standards are taken to the field and other task force for review
• The written rules are reviewed and revised by appropriate the Board and PTAC
• The passed standards are published for use.

Some of the standard-based functional departments for health centers are.

• Nursing
• Management of environmental care
• Management of human inputs
• Management of medication
• Leadership
• Improving institution performance

Advantages of joint commission certification and accreditation

• Strengthen society confidence in the safety of care and quality of services
• Boost risk management and reduction
• Promote stand training and development
• Promote a competitive marketplace.

Describe industry best practices for meeting accreditation requirements.

Joint Commission institution standards are bestowed on the Total Quality Management principles and continuous standard improvement.  This industry has incorporated this concept to bring changes. The use of total quality management is a very vital quality improvement approach for health sectors, and it represents a shift in health care standards.which can be used in a correct way to improve the operation of an institution by ensuring there is quality management of hospital services. Accreditations require changing of agent that emphasize effective leadership and fulfillment of the organization’s objectives (Cumming and Miller 2019).

The industry strengthens the emphasis on the evaluation of the standard services, training, and education that improves the health standards in the hospitals. The Joint Commission is structured to meet the cultural and environmental requirements of hospitals and other healthcare institutions that are in the world. This industry considers standards for countries and areas, religious and cultural aspects. It is regarded for the achievable of quality healthcare and ensuring a secure environment, and the commission considers the safety of its patients. The commission requires workers to work together as a means of achieving desired goals that improve hospital services. The quality improvement by the commission on quality services focuses on continuous improvement in hospital services (Cumming and Miller 2019).

The excellent services offered by Joint Commission gas lead to its standards to be recognized worldwide. It has extensive knowledge of building a world accreditation process that is known by the international community of Quality Assurance. Many countries implement their measures over 200 over the world. The commission standards focus on the healthcare standards that help the institution to assure that all needs of the sick person-way via a healthcare institution are safe and conducive. This standard mainly focusses on the outcome of healthcare and processes. The JCI standards include a perfect management procedure for hospitals that emphasizes the implementation of patient safety programs. This program provides training, discussion on mistakes, and education with the view of improving health services and minimization of the medical errors and avoiding patient harm.  Health centers have utilized this accreditation to prevent mistakes as they develop effective measures to strengthen the standards of patient care.  The safety of the sick is the essential principle tool in JCI in promoting quality care in health institutions.

According to Cumming and Miller (2019, the Joint agency ensures there is a practical assessment of the patient that will result in better decision making in the treatment of the sick. The evaluation of the sick is a very vital process as it requires technical analysis of the information and doing useful tests. The assessment must lead to care for each sick individual. The JCI expertise work with WHO in ensuring there are quality and safe medical practices to all patients in the world.  It focuses on the promotion of the adaptability to internal requirements, the standards of the patient, and safety. The Commission has set goals which include;

• Identifying the sick person correctly
• Boosting quality communication
• Improving the standards of higher-alert medications.
• Ensuring correct processes and correct sites.
• Eradicating the hazards of healthcare-related to diseases
• Reducing the dangers of the sick harm originating from falls.

Select one accrediting body other than the Joint Commission and analyze the benefits of its accreditation for the organization

The Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC)

According to Beasley, et al. (2019), the URAC is a healthcare organization that deals with the evaluation, transparent process that health care institution undergoes a test of its procedures and performance done by impartial outsider institution to ensure in carrying out activities in a way that meet predetermined process. The standards established by URAC keep the rule to save the changes in the healthcare procedures and gives directions for healthcare institutions do show their commitment to measuring and accountability. This organization work ensuring the future of healthcare control prizes raises quality and boosts all healthcare. This is a nonprofit organization independent agency for accreditation. This institution works with the firm and other leading stakeholders to revise URAC standards against essential institutional procedures. This institution offers more than 30 various certification and registration programs and has given accreditation documents to over ten thousand firms in the entire 50 States and abroad. All the firms which get certification from URAC improve in their activities due to new revised processes.

The accreditation standards of the URAC institution are established by independent experts depending on advisory members of experts in healthcare delivery. At the end of internal negotiation, the institutions make them available for public opinion, review them further concerning given comments, then transfer them to URAC independent advisory members for approval (Beasley et al. 2019).

The URAC accreditations show commitments to perfect services and give a workflow to improve health processes by benchmarking against the state’s known standards. This organization requires applicants to provide procedures, laws, and other institutional information for review. This enables training and adherence to nationally recognized healthcare standards and helps in the improvement of healthcare processes and delivery. From Beasley et al. (2019), the accreditation of URAC promotes reasonable revision and evidence of services that adhere to patients and suppliers. The commission collaborates with national efforts to manage chronic diseases by improving and maintaining personal health standards. The accreditation qualities support the establishment of a comprehensive process for users for care involvement, excellent health results, and satisfaction. With URAC standards, institutions maintain the highest confidentiality in utilization management and get consistency.

The URAC- accreditation Health Utilization management institution.

• Gives independent, does not employ biasness in the determination of the medical requirement of the sick person.
• Utilization of evidence-based procedures in treatment for perfect and usefulness of patient care while removing extra expenses and t

herapy.

• We are sticking to timeframes documented in the standards for non-urgent and urgent retrieval determinations.
• Understanding and following the applicable federal regulations and state.
• The accreditation is developing address any hazard to sick safety like adverse drugs and contradiction treatments.

The URAC at the moment offers benchmarking products by providing education in conferences, webinars, workshops, and audio conferences that are open to every person and companies around the healthcare organization. The publication of the organization includes on-demand media, briefs issues, newsletters, and accreditation guidelines; all these are available online.

Opinion about whether the cost and required effort for meeting accreditation requirements have value to the organization

Budgeting is essential before the process of accreditation is implemented. The price may be intangible or tangible. To carry out a survey, it will require some fee concerning the organization size, several surveyors carrying out the study, traveling cost, and hours to be spent during the entire process. The loss of accreditation will cost a lot of dollars as well as internal costs in human power to carry out the internal assessment and develop. The policies and procedures, human input, patient records training, and employees are required, and this requires money to facilitate this process.  Accreditation costs will require to be developed into the future budget; accrediting organizations need reassessment and survey in a cyclical way. There should be a planning procedure to conduct self-assessment before the cost is determined.

There is a cost of certification that should be incorporated whenever an organization needs to be certified. According to research is that the cost of certification for an institution dealing in petrochemicals is about $8 in a thousand dollars of sales. For an organization to get ISO, it has to pay for the cost. The firms that do not adhere to the certification are a risk of incurring more cost in securing quality health and training. Building on the high quality of the Commission requires enormous investments as it involves research by experts, both internal and external experts who need facilitation, and this will lead to organization incurring more costs.

The cost of paying a Joint commission team is so high and costly. On average, the cost of paying registered nurses is about $45_$100k. This cost is so demanding that the Commission has to have enough resources to gather for all teams.  The marketing of the organization is also high on the marketing team requires payment to boost the marketing of the Commission.

References

Beasley, S. F., Farmer, S., Ard, N., & Nunn-Ellison, K. (2019). A Voice in the Accreditation Process: The Role of the Peer Evaluator. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 14(4), A3-A5.

Bender, K. (2017). After Initial Accreditation: The Road Ahead. In Solving Population Health Problems through Collaboration (pp. 143-158). Routledge.

Cumming, T., & Miller, M. D. (2019). Academic Assessment: Best Practices for Successful Outcomes with Accreditation Evaluation Teams. New Directions for Community Colleges, 186, 81-93.

Goff, D. A., Kullar, R., Bauer, K. A., & File Jr, T. M. (2017). Eight habits of highly effective antimicrobial stewardship programs to meet the joint commission standards for hospitals. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 64(8), 1134-1139.

Mosadeghrad, A. M., Akbari-sari, A., & Yousefinezhadi, T. (2017). Evaluation of hospital accreditation standards. Razi Journal of Medical Sciences, 23(153), 43-54.

Samuel, L. (2016). Regulatory Compliance. Clinical Virology Manual, 35-39.