Support for JCI Accreditation

The Joint Commission is currently the world's most experienced organization in healthcare accreditation. For more than 50 years, it has been dedicated to improving the quality and safety of healthcare and long-term care organizations. It currently accredits nearly 20,000 organizations worldwide. The information and experience gained from evaluating these organizations are, in turn, used to periodically update the standards, ensuring they remain aligned with changes in healthcare services.

In 1996, the Joint Commission International (JCI) was established as a division of the Joint Commission with the mission of improving the quality of healthcare worldwide by providing accreditation services across the globe. To ensure the international applicability of its standards, they are developed by consensus among experts and opinion leaders from all five continents. The JCI evaluation process is designed to adapt to the legal, religious, and cultural characteristics of each country.

Joint Commission International accredits more than 800 organizations worldwide.

Joint Commission International accreditation always applies to the healthcare organization as a whole. It is not granted independently to individual departments or services, as it is a comprehensive model that encompasses the entire organization. The accreditation model is based on the organization's key functions, which are carried out across all areas. Within each of these functions, key processes are identified and standards of good practice are established.

The model as a whole represents a comprehensive compilation of best management practices for an entire healthcare organization.

There are many reasons for selecting this model among the existing external evaluation systems, but the following stand out:

• its specificity for the healthcare sector
• its extensive experience in the sector.
• its strong capacity to drive improvement in healthcare organizations

Patient-centered

Promotes a culture of patient safety

Evaluates all aspects of management

Represents an important improvement tool for the organization

Provides international recognition for the care provided by the center

Provides international recognition of the care delivered by the organization: Joint Commission International accreditation publicly demonstrates that the organization meets the quality requirements of the sector's most technically competent institution. This accreditation represents an undisputed mark of prestige at the international level.

JCI offers different accreditation programs for the healthcare and long-term care sectors:

Healthcare sector

• Acute care and teaching hospitals
• Primary care
• Outpatient specialty centers
• Healthcare organizations with multiple facilities

Long-term care sector:

• Long-term care (assisted living facilities, medium- and long-stay hospitals, palliative care centers, rehabilitation facilities, etc.)
• Home care and home hospitalization

To train the organization's professionals so they understand the requirements of the reference model.

To identify the aspects that the organization needs to improve.

To provide methodological and technical support for planning improvements and redesigning processes.

To guide the organization in implementing changes and evaluating the effectiveness of improvements.

The work plan to prepare a center for JCI accreditation usually consists of four phases, which gradually introduce the model into the organization and help generate changes in work systems to meet the standards’ requirements. These phases are:

• 1. Training
• 2. Situation diagnosis
• 3. Improvement planning
• 4. Implementation of the improvement project

Although it is possible to carry out some phases internally, the involvement of the FAD provides technical and methodological support based on the experience gained from implementing multiple similar projects, which undoubtedly streamlines the work within the organization.