August 11, 2000

The MGH recently received an official announcement that a team of surveyors from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) will conduct a hospitalwide survey Sept. 18 to 22. The team is expected to randomly survey clinical areas, patient care units and ambulatory services, and also may randomly query staff about the care they provide.

In preparation for the survey, the hospital’s JCAHO Steering Committee is currently conducting practice sessions. These sessions will include areas such as imaging services, infection control, information management, medication use and medical records.

"This survey represents an opportunity for entities outside the MGH to measure the many efforts we have undertaken to improve care, to become more sensitive to the changing needs of patients and to place a greater emphasis on patient privacy in this challenging health care landscape," says Maryanne Spicer, director of Compliance and chair of the JCAHO Steering Committee. "We also are eager to showcase the innovative work we have done in performance improvement and patient safety, among other initiatives. Employees have worked nonstop to maintain high-quality patient care and top performance, so we look forward to this evaluation of our effectiveness."

The JCAHO Steering Committee plans to continue using the FYI campaign – which includes posters, newsletter articles and fliers – to provide information to employees and staff in preparation for the survey (See "FYI posters address patient confidentiality").

MGHers also can view a listing of JCAHO standards in the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals, which can be found online from any Partners workstation by accessing Partners Applications, Clinical References, CAMH 1999.