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Touchstone in healthcare JCI accreditation is setting new benchmarks in patient safety and quality improvement
Ashraf Ismail
P
atient safety is one of the most pressing challenges faced by healthcare providers across the globe. As they are under increasing pressure to regularly monitor and improve quality and efficiency of health care, it has become imperative to create and foster an environment and culture of quality and safety within each healthcare setting. The willingness to acknowledge that adverse events occur in health care has also brought into focus the need to adopt a systematic approach to reduce the real risk of patient harm.
Since launching its accreditation programme in 1999, Joint Commission International (JCI), the world’s most respected accreditation body for hospitals, has been a champion of patient safety and quality improvement in the global healthcare community. Its focus on the highest patient care standards and resultoriented process improvement has helped hundreds of healthcare organisations across the globe achieve success in their pursuit of quality outcomes and patient-centered care. According to Dr Ashraf Ismail, Managing Director, JCI Middle East, “Healthcare organisations are striving to achieve JCI accreditation to demonstrate their commitment to international standards focused on quality and
Dr Ashraf Ismail, Managing Director, JCI Middle East patient safety. By working through the process to achieve accreditation, organisations can identify areas requiring improvement and prioritise key challenges through innovative evidence-based approaches. “The chief merit in seeking JCI accreditation lies in the transformation it brings about to an organisation and its processes,” says Dr Ismail. “It takes strong commitment from the top management, but staff training is also essential to really implement the processes and the policies, and ensure the process is sustained by embracing continuous performance improvement. “Despite the fact that JCI accreditation is voluntary, earning this Gold Seal of Approval recognition is seen as meeting the highest standards of both quality and patient safety,” he adds. Apart from accreditation, JCI also provides educational and advisory services which “are aimed at helping organisations implement practical and sustainable solutions that promote safety and lead to improved quality of care. For instance, JCI’s Safe Health Design consulting services provide guidance to healthcare organisations designing and building or improving facilites. “Research has shown that infection prevention and control, pain management, medical errors and injuries, patient and staff well-being, efficiencies in care delivery, and staff performance are all affected by the built environment. JCI’s Safe Health Design consulting services, therefore, uses evidence-based design principles to assist healthcare organisations with creating a physical environment that fosters safety, quality and operational effectiveness. This ensures that JCI standards are met and safe practices are embedded in the facility design even before accreditation is sought by a healthcare organisation.”
As part of its educational services, JCI also offers diplomas to healthcare professionals in the fields of Infection Control and Quality Management and Patient Safety. “In October this year, JCI will host its most comprehensive educational programme — the Dubai International Practicum on Accreditation and Quality Improvement that has been designed to make the accreditation preparation process as simple as possible by explaining JCI’s methods and standards while also highlighting the best practices and processes needed to achieve accreditation success.” “JCI’s new fifth edition hospital standards will be published in September this year. This represents a bold step forward in quality and patient safety best practices,” says Dr Ismail. “JCI has witnessed phenomenal growth in the Middle East region since its inception here in 2006,” he says. “JCI has become the standard for hospitals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi with American Hospital in Dubai becoming the first in the country and the second worldwide to gain JCI accreditation in 2000.” There are a total number of 183 healthcare organisations accredited by JCI in the Middle East and India. “Of these 68 are in the UAE including 35 in Dubai and 28 in Abu Dhabi,” says Dr Ismail. “In 2013, more organisations in the region have joined us on the journey to excellence.” With the UAE Ministry of Health preparing to launch a campaign to have all hospitals gain internationally acclaimed accreditation, more hospitals in the UAE will soon be adopting the world’s leading best practices in healthcare.
JCI has become the standard for hospitals in dubai and abu dhabi with the american hospital in dubai becoming the first in the country and the second worldwide to gain JCI accreditation in 2000
research has shown that infection prevention and control, pain management, medical errors and injuries, patient and staff wellbeing, efficiencies in care delivery, and staff performance are all affected by the built environment. JCI’s safe health design consulting services, therefore, uses evidence-based design principles to assist healthcare organisations with creating a physical environment that fosters safety, quality and operational effectiveness. This ensures that JCI standards are met and safe practices are embedded in the facility design even before accreditation is sought by a healthcare organisation DrAshrafIsmail