The Requirements to Obtain Accreditation

Quality Improvement Essay
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Quality Improvement Essay
Introduction
Earning accreditation is the desire of many healthcare facilities in the US. Healthcare facilities need to offer high-quality services to patients. This is the best way of improving the health outcomes of their clients. Accreditation bodies exist to ensure that hospitals consistently deliver the best care possible and continue with the culture of excellence. There are several accreditation bodies for hospitals. One of the most outstanding organizations is The Joint Commission (TJC). Since TJC is a reputable accreditation body, it will be the most appropriate for the healthcare organization under focus.
About The Joint Commission
Founded in 1951, TJC is America's oldest and largest healthcare accreditor (The Joint Commission, 2021). TJC accreditation is challenging to obtain and hence carries prestige, which sets apart organizations that the body has credited. Further, having TJC accreditation creates a competitive advocate for a healthcare facility. If clients choose between a credited and non-credited organization, they will prefer to go to the accredited hospital. Because of accreditation, clients have confidence that an organization strives to ensure quality services (The Joint Commission, 2021). The mission of TJC is continuously improving healthcare for the public by collaborating with stakeholders and inspiring healthcare organizations to offer the highest quality care possible.
The requirements to obtain accreditation.
Firstly, an organization must understand the process. A healthcare facility must take time to know what is expected of them. The TJC website is vital in providing organizations with the comprehensive information they need to know about TJC's standards. After knowing what is expected of an organization, self-assessment is needed to evaluate the facility of programs to determine whether or not they meet the standard policies (The Joint Commission, 2021). If the standard policies are not met, a healthcare facility needs to follow them to make the necessary adjustments.
Secondly, an organization ahold send an application for accreditation. This should be done once an organization has ascertained it is ready to undergo inspection (The Joint Commission, 2021). After TJC processes the request, it sends an email with login information connecting to TJC's website. A healthcare facility needs to provide vital information regarding the organization. Here, an organization should indicate when it wants the on-site survey to take place. It should provide sufficient time to allow changes geared towards the TJC standards.
Thirdly, the healthcare facility must allow for an on-site survey. It is done by a specially trained TJC surveyor or a team of surveyors. These assess the organization's compliance with the TJC's standards. In the survey, the surveyors pick patients randomly and utilize their medical records to determine compliance with the set standards (The Joint Commission, 2021). The surveyors check the patient's experience in the facility. They talk to the healthcare professionals who have interacted with the particular patient. The information gathered allows the surveyors to estab...