Jun 19, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Utica Hospital holds accreditation in ISO 9001 and 14001, may pursue 15189
When the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved DNV Healthcare, Inc. , of Cincinnati, Ohio, to accredit hospitals in the United States last fall, it changed the accreditation landscape significantly. A division of Det Norske Veritas of Oslo, Norway, DNV Healthcare is the first new hospital accreditation competitor for The Joint Commission http://www.jointcommission.org in 40 years. The Joint Commission is the longtime leader in hospital accreditation in the United States.
Among the first hospitals to use this new Medicare accreditation program was St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica, New York. One compelling reason why St. Elizabeth used DNV to pursue Medicare accreditation was that it already held ISO 9001 accreditation and the DNV accreditation process enables hospitals to earn accreditation under both programs. Based in its successful experience with DNV and with ISO 9001, St. Elizabeth’s administrators and clinical laboratory managers expect to pursue ISO 15189:Medical Laboratories accreditation within the next two years.
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Oct 15, 2008 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
When it comes to hospital accreditation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently disrupted the status quo in at least three ways. First, last month it approved Norway-based Det Norske Veritas (DNV) as a hospital accreditation program in the United States. Significantly, this is the first new hospital accreditation organization in the U.S. in 40 years.
Second, by taking this action, CMS is bringing the hospital industry closer to the use of ISO 9001 quality management systems. That’s because Det Norske Veritas, which already accredits hospitals in several countries worldwide, bases its accreditation process on use of ISO 9001. It has also created a program that combines the CMS “Conditions of Participation” with the ISO 9001 quality management system. DNV calls this program the “National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (NIAHO).” At least 22 hospitals in the United States have already earned accreditation using NIAHO.
Third, by granting deeming status to DNV, CMS has introduced a new competitor for accreditation business into the U.S. marketplace-one that incorporates its accreditation standards on the ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS). Dark Daily predicts that it won’t take long for the Joint Commission to respond to this new competition by introducing an accreditation program that is also based on a quality management system like ISO 9001.
One U.S. hospital that has worked with Det Norske Veritas since 2005 is Newport Hospital in Newport, Rhode Island. During this time, the 120-bed community hospital has been surveyed four times by teams from DNV under its NIAHO program. Early in 2008, Newport Hospital was also surveyed by the Joint Commission and CMS, giving it a unique perspective on the similarities and differences from each of these survey programs. According to Terry McWilliams, Vice President of Medical Affairs at Newport Hospital, “They [Det Norske Veritas] consistently look for system-related issues and overall process improvement.” He further stated that the DNV survey, as conducted in his hospital was “clearly never inferior to our experience with any other agency-and at times superior! They really objectively look at your processes and how you might be able to improve them to get to that next level.”
For regular subscribers and readers of Dark Daily, these new developments are consistent with the healthcare trend of incorporating quality management systems, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 15189 Medical Laboratories, into the operation of healthcare organizations. It was in September that Dark Daily reported that the first two American laboratories were closing in on their ISO 15189:2007 accreditation. Piedmont Medical Laboratory (PML) of Winchester, Virginia, and Avera Health Laboratories of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, are in the process of completing the final steps required to earn accreditation under ISO 15189:2007. Each laboratory is using the College of American Pathologists (CAP) as its ISO 15189 accrediting body. (See “Two Labs in Friendly Race to Win First ISO 15189 Accreditation in U.S.“)
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Mar 19, 2007 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
In recent years, we’ve written plenty about one major change in how hospitals and other healthcare organizations undergo accreditation. That is the requirement that: 1) hospitals measure patient satisfaction; 2) that hospitals develop a plan to improve patient satisfaction; and, 3) that by the next inspection, the hospital or healthcare organization demonstrate measurable improvement because of that plan.
This shift in what an accreditation inspection measures is consistent with the goals of employers and Medicare to improve the quality of care, boost patient safety, and, because of better outcomes, lower the cost of care. Hospital-based laboratories and pathology groups have watched their parent institutions take the baby steps needed to survey patient satisfaction and then actively work to improve service.
Now the outcomes from this effort are starting to attract attention. Just a few weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal published an article detailing how hospitals nationwide are using patient satisfaction surveys to expose problems with they way they do business and get suggestions for how they can improve. A survey conducted by Michigan-based hospital chain Spectrum Health in 2004 revealed that staff members were given low marks for helpfulness and attitude towards visitors. It was also learned that patients and their families felt ill-informed about their in-hospital treatment and weren’t given good instructions about how to care for themselves once they went home.
Spectrum took its survey results to heart. It adopted a family-centered health care model, creating a patient and family advisory council to help shape hospital policy. Hospitals conducting patient surveys have found many ways to improve patient care, such as eliminating visiting hours, sending apologies such as flowers or candy to disgruntled patients, having DVD players in waiting rooms, and issuing $25 gas cards to compensate patients for long wait times that required them to return on another day for a test or procedure. Try Googling “Hospital Satisfaction Survey” to see how dozens of hospitals and health systems are conducting on-line patient satisfaction surveys.
Don’t forget that this is also the first year that hospitals will be required to participate in the federal government’s satisfaction survey program to receive full reimbursement from Medicare. The results of patient surveys will be posted on the government’s Hospital Compare Web site. First results are expected to appear on the Web site later this year. It will be the first time that Medicare patients can see how patients ranked their hospitals.
By the way, some of the nation’s most progressive laboratory organizations are already deeply-engaged in measuring patient satisfaction, then using that information to improve and refine their services. During the May 2006 Executive War College, careful listeners in the audience heard a number of case study speakers describe how their laboratories considered improving measured patient satisfaction to be a major strategic goal. Collectively, this is a trend that will raise the competitive bar in the marketplace. That means competitive advantage to laboratories using this tool.
Related Articles:
Patient Satisfaction Surveys Prompting Hospitals To Improve Patient Experiences
If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9 1/2 Things You Would Do Differently
PS: Hospital measurement of patient satisfaction is about to impact another important laboratory service: phlebotomy. In an upcoming Dark Daily, we will share with you how and why hospital administrators are starting to pay attention to phlebotomy services, with an eye to improving them. It’s an unlikely turn of events for a service that been too often underappreciated!
