Inspecting the inspectors: feds target JCAHO.
From now through October, inspectors from the federal Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the agency that performs Medicare oversight, will be conducting an examination of accreditation practices of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). As part of their examination, OIG investigators will observe JCAHO surveyors at a minimum of four hospital surveys. Although representatives from JCAHO claim not to be worried, they concede that they aren't sure of OIG's intentions. Although the OIG investigators will be observing the surveyors, not the hospitals being surveyed, some experts suggest that their presence could mean tougher surveys across the board, at least in the short term.
D000068:Accreditation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D003625:Data Collection; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006278:Medicare / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States