The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has renewed the approval of The Joint Commission’s deeming authority for the accreditation of hospitals that want to participate in the Medicare program.
The continued recognition was awarded for a six-year period effective July 15, 2014, through July 15, 2020.
As part of the process for awarding deeming authority, The Joint Commission has made changes to some of its requirements to better align a number of items with expectations from CMS. The changes are effective July 1, 2014.
In addition, CMS evaluated The Joint Commission’s standards; corporate policies; resources to accomplish surveys; procedures for training, monitoring and evaluating surveyors; ability to investigate and respond appropriately to complaints against accredited hospitals; and survey process and decision-making process for accreditation.
CMS found The Joint Commission meets or exceeds its standards.
This designation means that Joint Commission accredited hospitals may request to be surveyed by The Joint Commission for compliance with the Medicare quality and safety requirements.
Accreditation is voluntary, and seeking deemed status through accreditation is an option—not a requirement. Organizations seeking Medicare approval may choose to be surveyed either by an accrediting body, such as The Joint Commission, or by state surveyors on behalf of CMS. All deemed status surveys are unannounced.
“The Joint Commission is pleased that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have continued to recognize the value of the standards, surveyors and policies of our company to evaluate the quality and safety of patient care provided in America’s hospitals,” said Dr Mark Chassin, president and CEO, The Joint Commission.
“The safety of all people in Joint Commission accredited health care organizations is the foremost priority of our employees, who are steadfastly committed to helping health care organizations and their staffs achieve their best.”
The Joint Commission has accredited hospitals for more than 60 years and today it accredits approximately 4,067 general, children’s, long term acute, psychiatric, rehabilitation and specialty hospitals. Approximately 77 percent of the nation's hospitals are currently accredited by The Joint Commission, and approximately 90 percent of the nation’s accredited hospitals are accredited by The Joint Commission.
CMS, The Joint Commission, US
