BWH Prepared for Next JCAHO Visit
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) will be conducting regular accreditation surveys on an unannounced basis, according to a new JCAHO policy beginning this year.
BWH completed its most recent triennial survey in March 2004 following an intense, five-day site visit when JCAHO used its tracer method for the first time at BWH, following patients through their care, treatment and services.
JCAHO's next unannounced five-day survey for BWH's accreditation will be sometime in 2007. However, the Joint Commission may send a surveyor for an unannounced one-day visit at any time before then. The BWH Clinical Compliance Department's goal is that the hospital is ready whenever JCAHO surveyors may arrive. As part of this effort, a consultant from the University HealthSystems Consortium (UHC) is evaluating processes to ensure continual compliance with JCAHO standards.
Anyone with questions should call Clinical Compliance at ext. 2-5913 or ext. 2-5810, or check the "Compliance Corner" on www.bwhpikenotes.org