At my previous job, I argued that the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) was a joke and that since JCAHO does not sanction hospitals, fear of JCAHO sanction would not carry an emergency management software product.
JCAHO is a quasi-governmental regulatory monopoly; hospitals pay the people that run JCAHO $26K per year for a survery that they must pass in order to receive federal Medicare money. While some states retain public accreditors that may accredit for Medicare money , JCAHO's the only player that matters. The Washington Post:
The tragi-comedy enters Act II:
JCAHO is a quasi-governmental regulatory monopoly; hospitals pay the people that run JCAHO $26K per year for a survery that they must pass in order to receive federal Medicare money. While some states retain public accreditors that may accredit for Medicare money , JCAHO's the only player that matters. The Washington Post:
Today, the nonprofit is one of the nation's most influential health groups, evaluating thousands of medical facilities annually. It collects $113 million in annual revenue, mainly from the fees it charges hospitals.Conveniently, JCAHO also has a consulting arm that engages hospitals at $10K "per" to teach them how to pass JCAHO's own requirements.
The tragi-comedy enters Act II:
Hospitals Now Can Have More Patient Care Violations, Other Deficiencies Before Being Sanctioned By JCAHO: "The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is defending a decision last month to raise the number of allowable deficiencies a hospital can receive before being punished.¶ 10:33 PM
...
Senate Finance Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the changes were "puzzling," adding, "Government investigators already have documented that the Joint Commission misses too many serious problems and rarely drops any hospital's accreditation. This move to weaken standards seems to be going in the opposite direction of what makes sense for quality of care."
