Two of the nation's leaders in improving health care for Americans are collaborating to recognize hospital stroke care programs that meet national quality standards.
Based on the recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association's (ASA) statements/guidelines for stroke care, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has developed an advanced Disease-Specific Care Certification Program that will provide the first nationwide certification program to evaluate stroke care provided by hospitals.
Each year about 700,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke, which is the nation's third leading cause of death. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds and someone dies of a stroke every 3.1 minutes. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.
"This ASA and Joint Commission collaboration will help standardize the care provided stroke patients in hospitals," says Charles A. Mowll, FACHE, executive vice president, Business Development, Government and External Relations, JCAHO. "Attainment of Joint Commission Certification will help hospitals differentiate their programs, and will help the public and emergency medical services professionals to recognize which hospitals are equipped to treat stroke."
"The American Stroke Association believes this initiative will improve care for stroke patients and ultimately reduce disability and death from stroke," says Larry Goldstein, M.D., F.A.H.A., chair of the ASA Advisory Committee. "The combination of JCAHO's expertise in setting national quality and safety standards coupled with the American Stroke Association's scientific base and grassroots infrastructure will pave the way for health system change."
Conducted under the umbrella of JCAHO's Disease Specific Care Certification Program, the review of applicant organizations will assess: - compliance with consensus-based national standards - effective use of primary stroke center recommendations and clinical practice guidelines to manage and optimize care - performance measurement and improvement activities
The on-site review process for Primary Stroke Center Certification will involve, in most cases, a one-day evaluation of stroke disease management services. Reviewers - experts such as neurologists, neuroscience nurses, emergency room nurses and doctors, or stroke center administrators - will evaluate compliance with national standards and emphasize the management of stroke patients through clinical guidelines and performance measurement assessment. The evaluation will assess qualifications and competence of practitioners; ongoing efforts to measure and improve process and outcomes; processes established to encourage patient self-management; demonstrated leadership support for the program; and use of clinical information systems to monitor patient care management. An expert panel, selected jointly by ASA and JCAHO, will make recommendations for a standardized performance measure set for stroke. The measure set will be available by early next year to augment the new certification program. In the interim, reviews of early-adopter hospitals that seek Primary Stroke Center Certification will require submission of four clinical process or outcome measures related to Primary Stroke Center care as listed in the Primary Stroke Center Certification addendum to the Disease-Specific Care Manual under Stroke Measurement areas.
Primary Stroke Centers that successfully demonstrate compliance with program requirements will be awarded certification for a one-year period. A one-year extension will be granted contingent on the submission of an acceptable Periodic Performance Review and the results of the organization's performance measurement and management activities.
For more information about ASA/JCAHO Primary Stroke Center Certification, visit JCAHO's website at www.jcaho.org , or contact Maureen Potter, executive director of the DSC Certification, JCAHO, at 630.792.5291 or mpotter@jcaho.org .
For more information about the American Stroke Association, visit www.strokeassociation.org.