Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/976338
61 QUALITY & ACCREDITATION Congress questions Joint Commission accreditation process — 7 insights By Angie Stewart T he House and Energy Commerce Committee sent a letter to e Joint Commission requesting a briefing on its survey process and interactions with CMS by April 6. Here's what you should know. 1. e Congressional committee is conducting oversight of CMS and accreditation organizations to check adherence to federal standards for Medicare and Medicaid programs. 2. CMS and three other accreditation organizations — the Bureau of Healthcare Facilities Accreditation, Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality and DNV GL Healthcare — also received informa- tion requests. 3. Representatives asked e Joint Commission to submit the following by March 23: Copies of hospital Medicare accreditation program applications submitted to CMS, including renewal applications; copies of performance reviews, validation survey feedback, corrective action plans or responses to those plans from CMS; and any correspondence with CMS addressing disparity rates for hospital surveys e Joint Commission performed. 4. e action is a direct response to a 2017 Wall Street Journal report, which found 350 hospitals accredited by e Joint Commission were in violation of Medicare requirements in 2014, but less than 1 percent had their accreditation revoked. 5. "According to CMS' most recent annual report to Congress, in (fiscal year) 2015, AOs conducting hospital surveys did not report 39 percent of 'condition level' deficiencies that were subsequently reported fol- lowing validation surveys conducted by State Survey Agencies no later than 60 days following the AO survey," representatives wrote. 6. e letters are signed by committee members Reps. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, Gregg Harper, R-Mississippi, and Michael Burgess, MD, R-Texas. 7. e Joint Commission sees the request "as an opportunity to share on the work we do to improve healthcare quality and patient safety by facilitating high reliability" and plans to respond, a spokesperson told HealthExec. n