NewsLetters

ACCREDITATION NEWS FROM THE JOINT COMMISSION

New survey agenda development process

Beginning in 2010, The Joint Commission will implement a new, more collaborative process for developing the survey agenda. The survey agenda will be similar to what organizations have historically seen and experienced; what has changed is that The Joint Commission will inform organizations before their survey about the on-site survey length and number of surveyors. Also, the organization can work with surveyors during survey to determine the best timing for the various survey activities. The new process will be more sensitive to the time demands of the health care organization and its staff during the on-site survey while still providing a thorough survey of the organization. All accreditation customers due for survey in 2010 will experience this revised agenda process (the new process does not affect certification reviews):

• The Joint Commission will send an e-mail to the organization to confirm the programs to be surveyed and to direct the organization to its Joint Commission Connect extranet page for a list of survey activities for each applicable accreditation program (the list is a planning tool that can be used with the Survey Activity Guide); and a program-specific document list that identifies initial materials surveyors will request to review at the onset of the survey.



• Shortly after an organization receives its e-mail, it will receive a phone call from its account executive to confirm that it has reviewed and understands the information on its extranet site. At this time, the account executive will provide the anticipated number of days and number of surveyors that will be assigned to the organization’s on-site survey.



• On the first day of the on-site survey, surveyors will work with the organization to confirm that the schedule considers the organization’s operations and needs.



• During the survey, organizations will work with surveyors to determine the best time for scheduling survey activities so they coincide more effectively with patient care and administrative operations. It is important to note that survey activities are not changing.

(Deborah Ryan, dryan@jointcommission.org or your account executive)