Introduction

Compliance in healthcare is a top priority and is required by governmental agencies for licensure. Accreditation, while not required, has many benefits for healthcare organizations though, arguably compliance with compliance regulations is primary. The process for accrediting can be long and scrutinizing yet it allows organizations to identify, understand, and act in areas where a need for improvement has been identified. The purpose of this paper is to understand accreditation, its requirements, and benefits.

Accreditation in Healthcare

As previously stated, accreditation is not a mandatory requirement for a healthcare organization, rather is allows the organization to show its commitment to its patients and the quality of care it provides. Accreditation is acquired from a third-party organization and can show the healthcare system their commitment to their patients and the quality of care provided. The process allows a healthcare organization to demonstrate its ability to meet, not only minimum regulatory requirements but also the higher standards set forth by the accrediting body (Greenfield et al., 2012). Accreditation standards are widely considered as a necessary component to promote safe, reliable, and high-quality services. There are over seventy healthcare accrediting agencies worldwide that have defined certain standards of excellence for healthcare institutions (Greenfield et al., 2012).

Though there are often commonalities, each accrediting body has its process for giving its “stamp of approval” to an organization seeking accreditation. Requirements for accreditation for each agency offering it are known prior to the final evaluation decision. A common process would be for a healthcare organization that is seeking accreditation to understand the requirements and perform internal audits to identify shortcomings and improve on those areas prior to the accrediting body coming through. Receiving accreditation, which signifies that the industry experts from the accrediting agency have thoroughly inspected practices and procedures and determined that they align with their expectations, certifies to the healthcare community that this organization has met rigorous nationally accepted standards. The process can be time-consuming but can also strengthen the reputation of the healthcare organization by providing confirmation of their commitment to delivering the highest level of care (Greenfield, et al., 2012).

After receiving initial accreditation, the standards must be maintained. For an organization to remain accredited it will need to be audited at a set time, usually every three years, to determine the organization’s practices remain in in alignment with the accrediting body (Greenfield et al., 2012). Some benefits noted from organizations that have achieved accreditation are an improved quality of care, decreased liabilities, a culture of excellence, and a badge that shows their commitment to the heist standards (Jha, 2018).

Accreditation Requirements

The first step is achieving accreditation is to determine which accrediting agency they’d like to be accredited by. An important consideration is to be sure the standards of the healthcare organization are shared by the accrediting body (Jha, 2018). Healthcare accreditation is a multidisciplinary, systematic inspection of an organization’s practices and policies as well as the physical structure itself. Items of potential inspection include facilities, education, record keeping, and qualification of staff. Typically, a letter from the healthcare organization’s board of directors to the accrediting agency requesting accreditation begins the process.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) more simply referred to as the “Joint Commission”, is the most widely used accrediting body in the United States. To seek accreditation from the Joint Commission for a hospital, for example, the following requirements must be met: 1. They maintain the standards of the Hospital Accreditation. 2. Is in the United States or its territories or is operated by government of the United States if it is located outside of the country. 3. The hospital assesses and maintains the quality of services. 4. The hospital must detail which services they provide. And finally, 5. The stated services are those that the Joint Commission accredits (JCAHO, n.d.).

There are fees to gain accreditation as well as annual fees to maintain the accreditation. The Joint Commission, as noted is the most widely used in the United States and is also the most expensive (Jha, 2018). Though there are costs directly for fees to maintain accreditation, the benefits for a healthcare organization to be nationally accredited with a stamp of approval