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Changes to accreditation process announced

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is implementing significant changes to its accreditation process for health care organizations, according to an Oct 3, 2002, news release from the Joint Commission. The "Shared Visions-New Pathways" initiative reflects input from health care organizations and key stake holders and will shift the focus of the accreditation process from survey preparation to operations and internal systems that directly affect the quality and safety of patient care.

New components of the accreditation process include

* a required midcycle, self-assessment during which the health care organization evaluates its compliance with applicable standards and develops plans to correct identified areas of noncompliance;

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* an automated presurvey review of organization-specific information (eg, sentinel event data) to identify critical processes relevant to patient safety and health care quality;

* consolidation of the standards to reduce the paperwork and documentation burden of the survey process;

* an on-site evaluation of standards compliance in relation to the care experience of patients;

* revision of individual organization performance reports to provide performance information not portrayed in current reports; and

* active involvement of physicians in the new accreditation process.

Accreditation process changes will take place during the next one and one-half to two years. A special edition of Perspectives, JCAHO's official newsletter, that discusses the new process is available on JCAHO's resources' web site at http://www.jcrinc. com/perspectives. Questions about the initiative may be sent via e-mail to sharedvisions@jcaho.org.

Joint Commission Debuts New Accreditation Process: "Shared Vision--New Pathways' (news release, Oakbrook Terrace, III: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Oct 3, 2002) http:/www.jcaho .org/News+Room/News+Release+Achives/svnp_nr.htm (accessed 21 Oct 2002),

Health Care Industry

Changes to accreditation process announced

AORN Journal, Dec, 2002

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