Joint Commission releases updated accreditation guide

The Joint Commission has released its accreditation “Survey Activity Guide for Health Care Organizations” for 2014.

The document contains:

• Information designed to help entities prepare for surveys, including an abstract of each survey activity that lists logistical needs, session objectives, an overview of the session and suggested participants.
• Updated document lists, released in September, that remind organizations to think about and be prepared to share their expectations for both the survey team and the on-site survey experience with the Joint Commission.
• Changes to all references to Nursing and Rehabilitation (NAR) Center accreditation and optional Rehabilitation and Advanced Care certification to reflect the program name change to Nursing Care Center (NCC) Accreditation and optional Post-Acute Care (PAC) certification.
• For home health providers, the guide includes updates to the care document list originally made in September. The list has been divided into sections to identify documents needed within one hour of surveyor arrival and those that will be needed during the course of the survey. Also, the list has expanded to include many of the documents that surveyors routinely have been requesting for review to evaluate standards compliance. Additionally, documents needed during the course of the survey have been grouped together under sub-headings of general information, performance monitoring and improvement, and documents required on deemed status surveys.

The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 20,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States. To earn and maintain the independent, not-for-profit organization’s Gold Seal of Approval, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team at least every three years. (Laboratories must be surveyed every two years.)

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Lois Bowers

Lois A. Bowers was senior editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long-Term Living from 2013-2015.