TEN STEPS TO HOLDING HOSPITALS ACCOUNTABLE: FILING Joint Commission Sentinel Event Reports

The Joint Commission is an accrediting body that accredits over 22,000 health care organizations in the United States. Joint Accreditation is a rigorous, financially, and time-consuming process. Joint Commission is the organization that sets quality standards and evaluates the hospital’s performance based on the quality and safety standards. Once a hospital is “joint-commission accredited,” every hospital goes through periodic onsite compliance reviews to be sure th institution is meeting expectations to maintain this “Gold Standard” of care.
Loss of accreditation signifies a severe departure from safety and quality standards and results in significant operational and financial consequences. As such, Joint Commission accredited organizations are highly motivated to avoid safety/ quality care violations.
Sentinel Event Safety Violations can trigger investigations of hospitals and could, if severe violations are found, lead to loss of Joint Commission accreditation. Loss of their JCAH “Gold Seal” is a huge concern to hospitals and health systems, and can result in loss of contracts, loss of revenue, loss of prestige, and significant negative publicity – none of which hospital executives want to see happen.