Leadership | 07.24.20
CMS Reduces The Joint Commission’s Approval Period Due to Survey-Process Concerns
by Molly Giammarco, MPP
CMS released a notice on July 17th approving The Joint Commission’s (TJC) hospital accreditation program for only two years due to concerns regarding the organization’s survey performance. This approval means that CMS recognizes TJC as a national accrediting organization for hospitals engaging in Medicare and Medicaid through July 15, 2022.
CMS can approve accrediting organizations for up to six years, but after thorough review TJC’s survey processes, CMS reduced TJC’s approval period. According to Mark Chassin, MD, president and CEO of TJC, the organization discussed the survey process issues with CMS that did not align with their standards to regain full approval.
"The Joint Commission appreciates that CMS began an initiative last year to increase its oversight of all hospital accrediting organizations," Dr. Chassin said in a statement to Becker's. "We will continue to demonstrate that Joint Commission accreditation provides the nation's most state-of-the art and effective evaluation of hospitals. We look forward to our ongoing work with CMS to improve patient safety and quality of care."
CMS will continue to monitor TJC’s survey processes to ensure the organization implements the necessary changes to meet CMS standards. View the full article here.