The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has developed an advanced Disease-Specific Care Certification Program based on recommendations for primary stroke care published by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association’s (ASA) guidelines. This is the first nationwide certification program to evaluate stroke care provided by hospitals.
The collaboration was developed to help standardize the care of stroke patients in hospitals. A JCAHO spokesperson says the attainment of the certification will help hospitals differentiate their programs and will help public and emergency medical service professionals recognize which hospitals are equipped to treat stroke.
The ASA believes this initiative will improve care for stroke patients and ultimately reduce disability and death from stroke.
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; and
- 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. 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.
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 http://www.jcaho.org/dscc/dsc.htm , visit JCAHO's website.