Surviving a JCAHO Audit - Essay Example

One of the most important of those regulatory bodies is the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). JCAHO is a not-for-profit organization operating with the preliminary purpose of providing voluntary accreditation to healthcare organizations. Over the course of eighty-eight (88) years, it has evolved from its humble beginnings when the first hospital inspections were performed by a single body, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) in 1918. The ACS utilized a very rudimentary system for inspecting hospitals whereby minimal standards were utilized as a means of setting the standards for accreditation.

The ACS served as a solitary regulatory board from 1918 until 1951 when the ACS joined forces with the American College of Physicians, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and the Canadian Medical Association to establish what was known as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH). The JCAH soon replaced the ACS as the organization responsible for setting the standards for the delivery of safe and appropriate care for patients within those organizations.

This commission was responsible for the publication of the first Standards for Hospital Accreditation (AORN Journal, 2002). In 1965, under the leadership of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Medicare Act of 1965 was passed. This meant a drastic shift in the role of JCAH. For the first time, JCAH became closely aligned with the federal government and facilitated an inalienable relationship with governmental funding and JCAH accreditation. For the first time, the law made provisions for hospitals which were accredited by JCAH wherein those hospitals were automatically viewed as being in compliance with most of the provisions of the Medicare program and were eligible to participate in the Medicare program.

As such, the accredited hospitals were able to reap the monetary rewards of being active Medicare participation (AORN Journal, 2002).In 1975, JCAH expanded its scope by becoming the main accrediting body for ambulatory health care facilities. This expansion was facilitated by an involvement with Accreditation Council for Ambulatory Health Care. Over the next decade, JACH established a series of committees which were known as the Professional and Technical Advisory Committees (PTAC) for each program it was responsible for accrediting.

Finally, in 1987, JCAH changed its name to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations as a means of reiterating its large range of accreditation activities. To date, JCAHO has established a large board of commissioners which includes a nursing representative who provides input with regards to nursing policy (AORN Journal, 2002). Functions of JCAHO JCAHO is responsible for evaluating and accrediting over 15,000 healthcare institutions and individual programs throughout the U.S. In so doing it provides services to the following general class of organizations:Hospitals [including general medical, psychiatric and pediatric hospitals as well as rehabilitation hospitals].

Nursing homesHospicesHome care organizationsAddiction servicesLaboratoriesRehabilitation centersAmbulatory care providersIndependent laboratoriesGroup practices In addition to accrediting the aforementioned organizations, JACHO also awards certification to health plans, hospitals and other institutions which provide disease management services as well as