How does JCAHO establish quality in an organisation?
Some of its key elements include performance improvement, management of the environment of care, organisational structure, leadership and management of information. The Joint Commission has set Patient Safety Goals for Universal Application, defined policies for infection control and disaster response/emergency management, among a myriad other concepts that translate into better healthcare management. In the hubbub and chaos that is the typical hospital, JCAHO sets a standard of practice that ensures optimal healthcare delivery to the patient. The JCAHO survey is therefore not a finite event but an ongoing process and philosophy. As the JCAHO website states: Hospitals that participate in continuous accreditation efforts, monitor and improve their performance every day, not just in preparation for a survey. At any point in the accreditation cycle, these hospitals know if their performance efforts are working. Continuous improvement efforts help hospitals maintain the highest quality of
