Accreditation Site Research Articles

ABCs of Quality Assurance

The following six points offer a summary of principles to the manager who must develop a QA program: Institutional commitment to the QA process is essential for success. This must be embodied in the table of organization for QA and the commitment of resources to the task. The QA plan should address mechanisms for data collection, data review, and outcome reporting. Lines of responsibility should be stated clearly. The manner in which the outcomes of the QA process are implemented and communicated back to the front-line workers must be clearly stated and continually fed back to them. Clinical evaluations work best in the presence of politically neutral practice guidelines. Vociferous complainers frequently can be made part of the process, harnessing their energy to good effect. Self survey should precede an accreditation site visit by at least 6 months. The best sources of JCAHO thinking on QA methods are the many JCAHO publications, several of which focus on the critical care arena.

Accreditation of predoctoral dental education: clinical outcomes assessment

The Curriculum Outcomes Review and Evaluation (CORE) system of outcomes assessment used in the accreditation of Canadian Dental Faculties by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the Canadian Dental Association is described. The CORE system, which has become an integral part of the regular accreditation site visit of Canadian dental predoctoral programs consists of (a) two methods of chart review, (b) assessment of the performance of a random sample of final year students in both diagnosis and treatment planning and in case presentation, (c) a structured observation in the clinical setting, (d) the application of a detailed and focused survey instrument prior to the site visit, and (e) the solicitation of feedback from involved students, faculty members, school administrators and accreditation site visitors. The overall response to the CORE program was favorable and plans to expand the program to dental hygiene accreditation are described.

The Peer Review Organization (PRO)

The PRO process is just one of the many reviews that HHAs are subjected to at any given time. On a practical level, HHA should incorporate PRO criteria and GQSs into its QA program. At present, there is no mechanism in place for denial of payment for substandard care, although proposed regulations were published in the January 18, 1989 Federal Register. Medicare certification, and therefore payment, could be lost if the facility or HHA were sanctioned. The Medicare law requires PROs to coordinate their activities with other review organizations. HCFA, however, has not established procedures for providing reports from fiscal intermediaries and PROs to the state survey agencies or coordinating state surveys with PRO reviews. HHAs should have structure and process criteria in place (either manual or computerized) to identify selected records for review. This enables the agency to monitor its internal quality assurance activities so that it has confidence that the GQSs will be met when reviewed by external agencies, including the PRO. This internal monitoring will also enable the agency to document patient outcomes. This is an important aspect of the evaluation process, since the emphasis of certification and accreditation programs and site visits will be focused on patient outcomes in the 1990s.

The Accreditation Site-Visit Process:

The accreditation site is one of the most important parts of the overall accreditation, or reaccreditation, process for schools of social work. This presentation examines some of the dynamics important to a well conducted site visit. The site-visit process is viewed from both the site visitor and the site-visited perspective.