Medical Tourism
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
| Name | Joint Commission |
|---|---|
| Type of organisation | Private |
| International or national | National |
| Period of validity | 2 years |
| Method of assessment | Unannounced full survey and peer assessment |
| Public communication | Non-transparent |
| Target groups | Patients |
| Price | € 2,200,- |
| Accredited by | ISQua |
| Participation | Voluntarily |
| Quality norm | - |
| Founders | The American College of Physicians, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the Canadian Medical Association join with the ACS |
| Objective | Continuously improve healthcare for the public |
| Profit or non-profit based | Non-profit |
| Accredited institutions | Healthcare institutions |
| Special remarks | - |
The Joint Commission is the hospital accreditation system operating in the USA and the national version of the Joint Commission International. Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest accreditation systems in the world. After the success in the USA, the Joint Commission decided to expand and to operate abroad in 1994 by creating the Joint Commission International. The Joint Commission is the biggest accreditation system in the USA with over 17,000 accredited institutions. It is recognised by several states as the standard setting organisation for medical institutions. Several insurance companies reimburse their clients the costs occurred, if they received the treatment in a JC accredited hospital.
The accreditation survey is not published publicly, but the acquired certificate is presented to the public. For this reason, the Joint commission received criticism over the past few years. Due to the fact that a huge amount of hospitals successfully obtained accreditation, the trustworthiness and the standards of the Joint Commission were questioned. The Joint Commission International is also being criticised for not announcing the full survey to the public. Therefore some of US states do not rely on the accreditation of the Joint Commission but on alternatives like the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) or Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP).