What is the Joint Commission?
The Joint Commission is known throughout the medical field as the most important organization for ensuring the quality and safety of our healthcare system.
Established in 1951, the Joint Commission has been and still is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to setting high standards for healthcare excellence. It oversees the accreditation of more than 22,000 healthcare organizations across the United States, including hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities.
To the patient the Joint Commission is largely invisible but it has daily influence through a rigorous quality control system that requires healthcare organizations to meet strict criteria for patient safety, treatment effectiveness, and operational excellence.
The weakness is enforcement because hospitals will hire professionals to meet the standards on the surface regardless of whether this technical compliance is truly carried out on a day to day basis. As television host Nancy Grace says, “You can’t put perfume on a pig” but unfortunately some facilities do this and get away with it.
When there are patient care failures or when a doctor is targeted by a hospital, the Horowitz office will look at Joint Commission rules governing the procedure or situation. If the hospital or medical facility is out of compliance or just putting perfume on a pig, we can use that to put responsibility where it belongs which his on the facility and its administration.
Among the most important rules of the Joint Commission are risk avoidance requirements.
The Joint Commission sets strict guidelines to minimize risks requiring basic things like infection control and protection against SSI’s which are Surgical Site Infections. Physician supervision including privilege rules, Focused Professional Practice Evaluation and review, reporting of major adverse events called “Never Events” or “Sentinel Events” are all part of the Joint Commission rules.
A healthcare facility cannot be accredited by the Joint Commission if it fails to substantially comply with the rules.
Federal funding for healthcare organizations can depend on Joint Commission compliance. To receive federal payments from Medicare or Medicaid, a healthcare organization must meet the government's health and safety requirements, known as Conditions of Participation (CoPs) or Conditions for Coverage (CfCs).
Organizations can achieve certification through a survey conducted by a state agency or by a national accrediting body like the Joint Commission, which has been recognized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as meeting or exceeding Medicare’s requirements. This process, known as deemed status, allows accredited organizations to qualify for federal reimbursement.
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