JCI accreditation is authorized by the
Joint Commission International, the international arm of the
Joint Commission (the United States’ largest accreditor of health care organizations.) JCI is wholly non-profit and exists to provide leadership, quality and credibility in the field of international health care.
The Organization
JCI is headquartered in Illinois, United States and has a set of regional offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Joint Commission International has been operating since 1994 and has worked in over 80 countries where it has accredited or certified over 400 public and private health care organizations.
Joint Commission International accredits hospitals, clinical laboratories, primary care services, ambulatory care facilities, and care continuum services. JCI also provides certification for 15 kinds of clinical care program.
JCI’s Credentials
JCI received four-year accreditation in 2011 from the International
Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), which shows that the processes and benchmarks used by JCI are of the highest international standards. The Joint Commission International, the Joint Commission and the
World Health Organization collaborate together on the WHO Collaborating Centre initiative, dedicated to patient safety. A JCI accreditation is the most prestigious accreditation a non-US hospital can get and consequently it is worth a lot to hospitals that offer services to foreign patients.
JCI Standards
The JCI accreditation process centers on patients’ care and treatment, as well as on the organization’s management and clinical systems. The JCI standards define the assessment of the key functions of hospitals and health care organizations. Key functions include meeting the international goals of patient safety, access to care, assessment and care processes, infection control, education, information management and human resources, facility management, leadership and management. The JCI has a total of six accreditation programs and one certification program. The accreditations include Hospitals, Ambulatory Care, Clinical Laboratories, Care Continuum, Primary Care Centers and Medical Transport Organizations.
Accreditation Process
The first step in the accreditation process is to obtain a copy of the JCI standards and prepare for accreditation. Once an organization is ready to apply for accreditation, they can take part in a trial survey as a means of experiencing a full JCI survey and highlighting any gaps in their organization. The organization submits their application and schedules survey dates with JCI. During the full survey, the JCI surveyors look back over the four-month period prior to the start of the survey in order to judge performance over an adequate amount of time. Following the survey the organization may need to carry out some follow-up activity. Following the end of the survey, the JCI decision on accreditation will be given.
Accreditation Time
The process of achieving JCI accreditation takes between 12 and 24 months for a hospital.
Accreditation Cost
The average JCI accreditation fee for a full hospital survey in 2010 was $46,000 USD. The cost of accreditation depends on the size of the health care organization and the complexity of the organization, which determines how many surveyors are needed and how long the survey will take to carry out. Large, multi-specialty university hospitals will have a higher fee than specialty hospitals. The organization also pays the costs of transportation and hotel accommodation for the JCI team, which is not included in the overall fee.
Re accreditation Process
JCI reaccreditation is required every three years following the original survey.
Six to nine months before the reaccreditation survey is due, the hospital should submit their revised application and schedule a JCI accreditation resurvey.
Accredited Hospitals
View are list of of
JCI accredited hospitals.