A majority of US state governments recognize Joint Commission accreditation as a condition of licensure for the receipt of Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.
However, Section 125 of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) removed the Joint Commission's statutorily-guaranteed accreditation authority for hospitals, effective July 15, 2010.
The Joint Commission's predecessor organization grew from the efforts of Ernest Codman to promote hospital reform based on outcomes management in patient care.
The change was part of an effort to make the name more memorable and to assist the commission in its continued responsiveness to the needs of organizations seeking fee-based accreditation.
[13] A 2005 article in The Washington Post noted that about 99% of inspected hospitals are accredited, and serious problems in the delivery of care are sometimes overlooked or missed.
[14] Similar concerns have been expressed by the Boston Globe who stated "The Joint Commission, whose governing board has long been dominated by representatives of the industries it inspects, has been the target of criticism about the validity of its evaluations.
The hospital should also be in compliance with applicable standards during the entire period of accreditation, which means that surveyors will look for a full three years of implementation for several standards-related issues.
The surveyors travel to health care organizations to evaluate their operational practices and facilities against established Joint Commission standards and elements of performance.
Although The Joint Commission increasingly cites and demands "evidence-based medicine" in its regulatory requirements, there is a relative paucity of evidence demonstrating any significant quality improvement due to its efforts, while there is a growing body of literature showing no improvement or actual deterioration in quality despite the increasingly stringent and expensive requirements.
[30] The Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ), based in Round Rock, Texas, was granted deeming authority for hospitals by the CMS In July 2013.
The NPSGs highlight problematic areas in health care and describe evidence and expert-based solutions to these problems.
[33] The NPSGs have become a critical method by which The Joint Commission promotes and enforces major changes in patient safety or thousands of participating health care organizations in the United States and around the world.
The Universal Protocol to reduce surgical errors and existing regulations on medication reconciliation have been modified for 2009, based on feedback received by The Joint Commission.
This not-for-profit tax-exempt private corporation (a 501(c) organization) currently accredits hospitals in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America and is seeking to expand its business further.
A Harvard University-led research study published in the BMJ[39] found that U.S. hospital accreditation by independent organizations was not associated with lower mortality or with reduced readmission rates for common medical conditions.
In 2001, the Joint Commission mandated that health care providers assess every patient's pain during each clinical encounter on a scale of 0 to 10.
[43] [44] With the COVID-driven inspection backlog and a lack of inspectors, the move was criticized as being purely a financially driven attempt to capture additional market share.