Benefits Of Hospital Standardization

When the Hospital Standardization Program established their initial set of minimum standards, one of the prescriptive measures required healthcare organizations to maintain medical records for patient treatment. The necessity of creating, and preserving a detailed account of a patient’s history, laboratory results, and treatment seems rudimentary today. The Hospital Standardization Program made significant advances in enforcing proper documentation. Building on that legacy, TJC strengthened standards involving appropriate medical documentation by including strict timelines for completion. For example, TJC mandates a patient’s History and Physical (H&P) report be completed within 24 hours of admission. Several elements must be included

After a random selection of patients is selected, the process begins at the point of inpatient admission. For example, a patient may have been admitted to the emergency department with chest pain. After determining the patient is suffering from a myocardial infarction, the patient is moved into surgery, then into an intensive care unit. The surveyor would follow every step of the patient’s journey throughout the hospital, evaluating the hospital’s service. Utilizing the tracer methodology ensures surveyors spend more time observing patient care, and delivery of treatment services. Each tracer takes a surveyor one to three hours to complete, and an average on-site survey includes eleven tracers (Murphy-Knoll, 2007). Surveyors spend approximately 50 to 60% of their time reviewing the randomly selected patients and interviewing providers to create a picture of an individual patient’s experience (Jacott, 2006). The tracer methodology also gives surveyors the opportunity to determine an organization’s compliance with National Patient Safety

In 2008, DNV was granted deemed status privileges, making DNV the first accreditation agency in over 40 years given this authority. What happened to TJC’s exclusive deemed status power? The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, Section 125 officially revoked TJC’s unique deeming authority. This amendment to Section 1865 of the Social Security Act has given healthcare organizations the opportunity to choose the accreditation process that best suits their