Hcs 430 Week 2 Essay

Regulatory Agency paper Name HCS/430 Legal issues in Health Care: Regulations and Compliances September 27, 2010 Instructor Regulatory Agency paper The Joint Commission is an agency that maintains partnership with the government to help improve the standards of health care within the United States. The Joint Commission accredits health care organizations and health care programs by setting standards to help improve the quality and safety of health care. The Joint Commission work closely and collaborates with government officials and legislation by ensuring health care organizations in the United States meet specific guidelines, set by The Joint Commission, which health care services provided are delivered with the highest quality and safety for the patients they service. Generally, health care organizations elect to have the joint Commission evaluate their facility through surveyors who work under a Board of Commissioners that is made up of health care experts that advocate for consumers. History The history of The Joint Commission dates back to the early 1900s. Earnest Codman M.D. created a system that would help hospitals track their patients from the beginning of admission through discharge. The proposed result system help hospitals determine if the patients care was successful. The results influenced future patient care. By 1917, the American College of Surgeons proposed a certification program for hospitals. The first minimum standards for hospitals were also developed in 1917.Very few hospitals met the proposed standards. By the 1953, the American College of Surgeons transformed their hospital certification program to the Joint Commission. The Joint Commission started accrediting hospitals in that same year. The Joint Commissions sponsors included the American College of Physicians, the American Hospital Association, and the American medical Association (The Joint Commission, 2010). Through the years, many notable changes were made, including the accreditation program for all health care organizations. Standards were developed for every accreditation program and updated each  year. In 1987, the Joint Commission organization changed to the Joint commission on Accreditation of Health care Organizations (JCAHO) to reflect the organization’s mission. During the 1990s the organization focused on performance improvement and measurement outcomes. By the early 2000s, the Joint Commission designed pathways that focused on improving the accreditation process and establishing goals for improving the patient safety and quality of care. Source and Scope of Authority The Joint Commissions main source of authority is governed by the Board of Commissioners that consists of a diverse group of health care experts. The corporate members include the American College of Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, the American Dental Association, the American Hospital Association, and the American Medical Association. The Joint commission also works closely with Congress to improve the quality and safety of health care (The Joint Commission, 2010). Structure The structure of the Joint commission is made of a diverse group of health care experts that seek to improve health care services. The Joint Commission’s Board of Commissioners and the corporate members collaborate on setting standards and requirement for health care organizations for improving health care and safety practices within the United States. The Joint Commission has set multiple standards for different health care programs. The standards and requirements must be approved by the Board of Commissioners. The Joint Commission also consists of several board committees’ that have specific areas of interest, such as executive, accreditation, performance measurement, standards, survey procedures. The Joint Commission also has a Board of directors who help provide consults to health care and focuses on global accreditation. The board members also serve as liaisons to many groups and committees that are affiliated with the Joint commission (The Joint Commission, 2010). Day-To-Day Responsibilities The responsibilities of the Joint Commission are to set standards to help improve the quality of health care services and provide safety guidelines for health care organizations. Their mission as a nonprofit organization is to continuously improve health care (The Joint Commission, 2010). The Joint  Commission accredits and certifies health care organizations by surveying facilities to ensure health care standards, performance measurements, safety guidelines have been implemented and carried out for better patient. The Joint commission sets standards and guidelines in compliance with federal laws to evaluate health care services. Health care organizations generally volunteer to seek accreditations from the Joint Commission by allowing expert surveyors evaluate their facility. The surveyors are made up of a multi-disciplinary team that spends an average of two days inspecting health care facilities. The purpose for the inspection is to evaluate a health care facilities standards, staff, regulations, policies and procedures, and quality improvement, and performance measurement. The Joint Commission surveyors generally look to see if the organizations governing board is taking part in ensuring that the facilities has facilitated safety and quality assurance program. In order for a health care organization to qualify for an accreditation, they must certain requirements. The requirements that health care facilities must meet before applying for an accreditation are, the organization must be located the United States and governed under the United States government, the facility works on improving quality of care, the facility has an indication of services provided, the facility addresses the standards set by the Joint Commission, the facility meets the requirements Medicare and Medicaid. Other responsibilities of the Joint Commission are to strengthen the safety of patients and build the trust and confidence of communities. The Joint Commission is constantly addressing specific areas to help hospitals improve their performance measurement. Effects on Health Care The Joint Commission has a direct effect on the health care system. The standards developed by the Joint Commission help health care organizations improve their care they provide. An accreditation from the Joint Commission is a seal of approval that is an indication to patients that the health care facility focuses on quality care and the safety of their patients. According to Ernest, (2009, p.48) â€Å"evaluating healthcare organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality value†, However, Ernest, (2009, p.48) also argues that The Joint Commission has placed the needs of the facility it inspects above those of  their patients. This is an indication that some of the standards set are burdensome to health care organizations and deemed unnecessary. According to (â€Å"Doctors lash out,† 2007), JCAHO requirements that become implemented are sometimes at odds with the real needs of patients even though they are supposedl y driven to ensure patient safety. They take control away from the physician/nurse-patient relationship where it should be. Example of Agency Carrying out Duties An example of an agency carrying out its duties would be the Joint Commission and their mission to improve the health care and safety for patients. Health Care organizations, such as hospitals must comply with federal and state laws to protect the health and safety of their patients. A hospital that provides different services must meet the regulations and standards set for each service provided. The duties are carried out play a role in governments funding toward health care, such as Medicare and Medicaid. These government funded programs set certain standards that hospitals and other health care organizations must adhere to in order to qualify for reimbursement. The Joint Commission has set standards that must be carried out by health care organizations compositions, structure, and daily functions. Basically, a health care organization must carry out their duties because of the responsibility that encompasses the health care system a whole. Conclusion The Joint Commission is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of health care and the safety of all patients. Their mission is to continuously improve the health care services within the United States. The Joint Commission has helped improve the quality of health care and how it’s delivered through a series of standards and regulations that health care organizations must comply with in order to meet the accreditation that symbolizes excellence in health care delivery. Through much collaboration with a diverse team, health care and health care safety will continue to improve through the ongoing effort and dedication from the Joint Commission.