Many hospital in our service network are accredited by the Joint Commission International, which certifies -- through painstaking periodic inspections -- that procedures and practices meet demanding standards. The mission of Joint Commission International (JCI) is to continuously improve the safety and quality of care in the international community through eduction, consultation and accreditation.
Joint Commission International is a division of The Joint Commission, which also runs the U.S. hospitals certifying body, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Today the largest accreditor of healthcare organizations in the United States, the Joint Commission surveys nearly 20,000 healthcare programs.
To ensure their international applicability, Joint Commission standards were developed by a 16-member international task force, representing seven major world regions: Western Europe; the Middle East; Latin and Central America; Asia and the Pacific Rim; North America; Central and Eastern Europe; and Africa.
Joint Commission standards address the organization’s level of performance in key functional areas, such as patient rights, patient treatment, and infection control. The standards focus not simply on an organization’s ability to provide safe, high quality care, but on its actual performance as well. Standards set forth performance expectations for activities that affect the safety and quality of patient care. If an organization does the right things and does them well, there is a strong likelihood that its patients will experience good outcomes. The Joint Commission develops its standards in consultation with health care experts, providers, measurement experts, purchasers, and consumers.