Employing Hospital Compliance Software to Manage JCAHO Accreditation Requirements

Accreditation is very important for organizations nowadays. Rewards and recognition are afforded to those able to reach accreditation requirements; apart from the innate benefit of making effective working systems in the organization making more clients satisfied and in turn, driving more profit for the company.

JCAHO Requirements and Benefits

The most sought after accreditation for hospitals is the JCAHO or Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. JCAHO evaluations mainly check on the level of compliance of the hospitals on the quality of care and safety they provide their patients. It aims to increase the quality of care given to patients as well as ensure that patient rights are adhered to.

All hospitals vie for this type of accreditation because it is one of the requirements of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to achieve Medicaid/Medicare certification and be authorized for reimbursement. And once a hospital is JCAHO accredited, it ensures its clients with the best care and safety while the hospital who violates it receives citation for non - compliance. The noncompliance is to be rectified within the specified period of rectification to avoid revocation of the accreditation of the hospital. Hospitals are strictly evaluated on their adherence to the set standards of the commission for accreditation. The said standards are discussed in depth in The Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals (CAMH).

JCAHO Accreditation Process

However, achieving JCAHO accreditation is not easy. Most hospital administrators panic at the thought of a JCAHO evaluation especially these days that evaluations are unannounced. It also affects the medical and the rest of the staff because of the details that they would have to take into consideration.

The accreditation process involves an on-site, unannounced survey to be conducted by a survey team from the Joint Commission. It is done every after 18 to 39 months of the previous conduct of survey. The survey evaluates the actual care processes of the hospital from care, treatment and services rendered to the patients. While doing so, the staff are also informed and guided on how to initiate and establish hospital performance improvements. With all these processes, several documentation are necessary to check on the compliance of the hospital.

Managing the Accreditation Process

Documentation of hospital processes and improvements usually take a toll on the hospital staff. Without the appropriate system of doing so, the staff will either end up exhausted or the other care and safety processes will be left undocumented. To avoid such circumstance, hospitals should employ hospital compliance software to streamline and manage patient care and operational performance. The good thing is the availability of hospital accreditation software that manages not only JCAHO accreditation but as well as other accreditation agencies.

Hospital accreditation is highly beneficial not only for the organization but most specially for its clientele. Qualtrax, Inc. is the first Intranet product made available to support and maintain regulatory requirements for document and data control which has now grown into a true compliance software package.

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Hospital Tips For the Elderly

Let's face it; going to the hospital for any kind of procedure is daunting, even for the young and relatively healthy individual. But, for the older American, a hospital visit can be quite frightening and even dangerous. Older people are more susceptible to hospital borne infections and can often be a bit neglected by busy nurses and other caregivers. The following hospital tips have been compiled specifically for the older individual who is facing a hospital stay.

1. If you know you are going to be admitted to a hospital in the near future, ask a relative or close friend to visit you as much as possible, while you are in the hospital. Ask that person to be prepared to watch over you and make sure that your needs are met, should you not be able to do so, yourself.

2. Whenever possible, try to do most of the pre-admission process over the phone before the day of your surgery/treatment. That way, you can be sure that the information you are giving is correct and you will not be as nervous as you will be on the day of your admission. Be sure and tell the admissions coordinator about ALL medications you are taking (including non-prescription pills and supplements). You should also plan to bring these medications with you on the day of your surgery/treatment in their original containers. Expect that they will be taken from you and then reissued by the hospital pharmacist in conjunction with your physician. Hospitals do not allow patients to take medications on their own while under their care.

3. Make sure you bring your favorite nightclothes, a robe, slippers and some comfortable clothes to wear home after discharge. You should also bring your own toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, shampoo, deodorant, shaving cream and razor, etc. Hospitals will not provide these items to patients. Should you forget to bring any of these items, the hospital gift shop should have these items in stock at all times.

4. Do NOT bring valuable jewelry, including your watch and wedding rings. Leave these at home or with a trusted friend but don't wear them to the hospital! It is also best not to bring electric hair dryers as they may not be grounded to the hospital's standards and pose a safety issue.

5. A geriatric assessment may be done by the hospital care team for some elderly patients. There may be complex problems that could threaten their ability to live alone after certain surgeries or procedures. Usually, the physician assigned to the case will request the assessment by another physician, nurse, social worker and physical therapist. This assessment can help older patients receive all of the care they may need after they are discharged from the hospital.

6. Older patients can take much longer to recover from the effects of anesthesia than younger individuals. It is important that the patient get plenty of rest and a lot of fluids to help offset these effects. Report to a nurse or the physician if excessive dizziness, nausea or forgetfulness continues to be a problem more than 24 hours after the surgery. Also, the older patient should not be allowed to get up on their own after anesthesia without someone else to assist and evaluate their ability to get around without tripping over wires and tubes (always a hazard in the hospital),

7. Older patients can also experience more problems with IV's because their skin is much thinner and their veins tend to collapse. Any arm pain, sudden coldness, a huge bubble forming under the skin or stinging should be reported to the nurse right away as the vein may have collapsed and the fluid could be leaking under the skin.

In short, the elderly need special attention and care when admitted to the hospital. It is the responsibility of the hospital staff to make sure that the outcome is the best it can possibly be, but the reality is that the elderly need an advocate (or several) in the form of family and friends to make sure their needs are truly properly met.

Author CL Davison is a former hospital administrator with a national hospital chain and is now a business owner and writer. Please visit [http://www.med-tips.com]

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Hospital Bed Buying Guide

Purchasing a hospital bed for yourself or a loved one, can lead to a lot of confusion. And mistakes can cut a costly chunk out of your wallet. But once you know the basics, you'll be able to purchase your next hospital bed or home care bed with confidence!

First, here are the bare bones basics:


The standard size for a hospital bed mattress is 35 x 80. Be sure to purchase Twin XL sheets because standard twin sheets won't fit.
If you need extra length, an extension is available on several models.
The mattress may or may not be included...be sure to find out when you are ordering.
Bed rails may be included or they may be an add-on. Make sure to ask about them when making your purchase.
If you need to buy a mattress, there are lots of choices depending on your needs. There are standard coil springs, foam and air mattresses. Okay, so now you need to decide what type of hospital bed you need. There are 5 types to choose from:

Manual Hospital Bed:

This is a great choice if you're working on a tight budget and don't mind extra work. The extra work comes from having to manually crank the bed to make any adjustments. So if you want the manual type...be sure that the person who needs to operate the bed is physically capable.

Semi-Electric Hospital Bed:

Again, this is a good choice if your budget is tight. You can adjust the head and foot of the bed with the push of a button. And that's a nice convenience. But the height is still adjusted by a manual crank. The great part is that these beds are typically covered by Medicare for home use.

Electric Hospital Bed:

Now we're into the Cadillac of hospital beds! A fully electric hospital bed allows the patient to not only adjust her head and feet with the push of a button, but the height of the bed is just as easily controlled. The benefit here is that it makes it so much easier for patients to get in and out of the bed on their own.

Adjustable Beds:

These beds are designed to "look" more like real beds. They come in twin, full, queen and king sizes to accommodate your preference.

Specialty Hospital Beds:

These are the fancy beds you'll find in most hospitals. You'll know them when you see them, too because the price tag will be pretty hefty. But if you're purchasing for a hospital then you just have to bite the bullet!

I know, I know...it's still hard to decide isn't it? I mean, each type of hospital bed has several different manufacturers who then sell several different models of each type.

If you still have questions, your best bet it to talk to a medical equipment expert who can help you decide which type, make and model will be best for you. Whatever you do, don't spend thousands of dollars on a guess. Be sure you're getting the bed you need.

Why waste your time looking for the perfect hospital bed or home care bed? We can find the perfect one for your needs...saving you time, money and frustration!

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It Takes a Village - Hospital Staff Works Together Towards Better Health

As the average patient enters the hospital for a routine medical exam or open-heart surgery, they do not always get to meet the dozens of hospital staff working behind the scenes to make sure that they are given the best care possible in a comfortable setting.

When most people think of a hospital like Manteno hospital, they first think of doctors and nurses whom are certainly a critical part of the hospital. But what about the sheets on the bed or the well-balanced tray of food cooked and delivered to your bedside three times a day. These tasks are performed by housekeeping and kitchen staff and often go unseen during a hospital stay.

It is easy to imagine the hundreds of man hours that go into doing the laundry for an Illinois hospital on any given day, but what about the lights that illuminate the surgical suites during important surgeries or the clean white-tiled floors that allow patients to be safely moved from room to room as needed. Largely operations and maintenance staff, many of whom work late hours to ensure that everything in the hospitality is running efficiently, oversee these tasks.

If you were to look at staff at the Kankakee Illinois hospital, you would find a wide range of job positions. The hospital administration and management is always working to ensure that insurers are paid and that doctors and nurses have the necessary support and technology to give the best care possible to all.

Doctors and nurses have the closest interaction with patients, but all of the facets of a working, thriving hospital make it possible for you to receive the best of care at all times. If one person were to not complete their job then it would be nearly impossible for other workers to complete their daily duties. This is why many hospitals make every effort to acknowledge the diversity of their staff and the various ways that their hard work positively impacts the patient sitting in the waiting room ready to be admitted.

Rounding out the diverse roles and responsibilities of paid staff are the hospital volunteers. These men, women and children often come from varied backgrounds and support patients and other staff alike. Whether it is bringing some much needed humor and cheer to a post-op patient or reading to children in the hospital, these individuals recognize the fulfillment that comes from giving back within your own community.

So whether or not you are a doctor at Manteno hospital or a nurse at the Kankakee Illinois hospital [http://www.riversidehealthcare.org/locations/kankakee.html] or play a role in the administration of an Illinois hospital, Riverside Healthcare has a team of dedicated individuals working towards better health for everyone who walks through the door. At Riverside, patients can learn more about these caring individuals and the programs and services available at the Riverside hospitals across Illinois.

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Having Surgery - 7 Things You Don't Want to Take to the Hospital When You Go in For Surgery

There are some things that you are required to take to the hospital when you are having surgery, such as a photo id and your usual medications. And there are some things, such as your favorite books that you must have to make your stay while recovering after surgery a little more comfortable, and that's okay. There are some things, however, that you should never take to the hospital even if you think you can't live without them. After all... you are going to the hospital, and I promise; your doctors and nurses will not let you die from email deprivation.

Here is at list of some important "don't bring items" and why you should not take them with you to the hospital.

1. Food and Drink

Chances are good that you will be on some doctor-ordered diet for a few days after surgery. And all of your food will come from the hospital cafeteria. It's not exactly savory, but you have to eat that and that alone. Don't bother with gathering up and keeping up with your favorite foods and drinks in the hospital. Besides, you won't have a refrigerator, microwave, or can opener in your recovery room anyway.

2. Clothing

When you feel sick at home it always helps to put on your comfy flannel pajamas, wrap up in your silk robe, and walk around in your fuzzy slippers. And you know that at the hospital you will be wearing a flimsy gown that is too big and flashes your rear when you walk. You may be tempted to pack your go-to lounging around garb. But, in the hospital, you risk losing or even ruining those coveted comfort clothes. Leave them at home and look forward to wearing them when you get back.

3. Nice Linens

Let's face it, hospitals do not exactly brag about their high-thread count sheets or plush pillows. And unless the sheets on your bed are 500-thread count and the pillow under your head is made of memory foam, you just don't sleep well. You think that you would get more and better rest if you just take in some of your own linens. But don't do it. Like clothing, linens are likely to get lost or ruined while you are recovering in the hospital. If you absolutely cannot fall asleep on the hospital linens, the nurse will give you a pill for that.

4. Scented Candles or Air Freshener

Aromatherapy is effective at easing you into the right mood and frame of mind to accelerate healing. The flickering flames of candles alone can create an atmosphere of peace and relaxation. And, anything would improve the sanitary yet unsettling smell of hospital rooms. However, lighting candles and fogging the room with Febreeze is not a good idea for two reasons. For one, the aroma that pleases one person may sicken another. You don't want to occupy that room that other patrons of the hospital smell from down the hall. For two, certain products that alter the air may cause complications for other recovering patients, especially ones with conditions such as asthma. You don't want to be the one responsible for contaminating their air.

5. Jewelry

Jewelry should never be taken to the hospital, and this includes your wedding set. Before surgery, you will be required to take it off, all of it. This is the time when jewelry can get lost or even stolen. If you don't believe it, read the newspaper. It's sad, but all to often jewelry gets stolen while in the hospital. Furthermore, when you are lying in a hospital bed, you do not need to nor are you expected to wear jewelry. Just save yourself the hassle of taking it off and trusting a friend to keep up with it and prevent the risk of losing it. Leave all of your jewelry at home, safe and sound.

6. Credit Cards or Cash

There is not one thing that you need to buy in the hospital. Your food, room, and maid services are included in that huge bill that they send you. Like jewelry, cash and cards are easily stolen or lost in the hospital. You don't want to leave the hospital with less cash or a stolen identity. Leave the pocketbook or wallet at home.

7. Work-Related Items

Cell phones, laptops, briefcases, and anything else related to work should be left at, well, work. At the hospital, focus on recovery. You can focus on your work at work. Stressing over work will only interfere with your rest and serenity and hinder your healing. Save the work for when you are back in tip-top shape and can really concentrate on getting those reports finished. Beleive it or not, if they are really that important, let someone else from the office do it.

So... try to leave the above items at home when you have to stay in the hospital. You really won't miss them while recuperating after your surgery, and they will be waiting for you just the same as you left them when you get home.

If you are having surgery and would like more information about how to prepare for surgery, reduce stress and heal quicker then download my free guide at http://www.PrepareForSurgeryNow.com

Mary Edison is also a health enthusiast, writer and entrepreneur. Through her websites and articles, she offers products and services that nurture and support the quality of life for all living things.

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Where Do Hospitals Get the Money in Order to Purchase Hospital Equipment?

There are several sources in which hospitals have in order to purchase the hospital equipment that they need in order to run their hospital and give their patients the most efficient and up-to-date care. Hospitals make their money and stay open due to federal and state government allocations, legislatures, insurance companies, individuals who make donations, and other employers. All of these entities contribute to the funding of the hospital and is taken care of by the hospital administrators who try to make the best and most efficient choices for the hospital itself.

Hospitals get their main source of income from the contributions and donations from companies and individual resources. They either get these monies in the form of checks or in hospital equipment or in other types of transactions. Most of these processes are very complicated in order to explain but there are several websites on the internet that explains the processes more in depth in order to get the understanding about how the whole process works. Their other main source of income is through the patients that they treat but this also can be very complicated due to the fact that there has to be a balance between the insured patients and the uninsured patients.

The more procedures that a hospital will incur will get them more money from the insurance companies while different procedures will be more lucrative than other procedures. It also even depends on the types of insurance plans that the patients have because some insurance companies pay more than others do. All of these factors have to watched and calculated in order for the hospital to have the money in their accounts in order to purchase needed hospital equipment and supplies for the hospital. Hospitals can go out of business if there are too many patients that come through their door without insurance or without a way to pay.

The general public needs to understand that the reason hospital costs are usually so high is due to the simple fact of the cost that it takes in order to run the hospital and the cost that it takes to get the patients the best and most up-to-date hospital equipment on the market today. They could be making a lot of money from their donations, insurance money and the government, but if the uninsured services and non-payment services rise about the money that they are getting, it could force the hospital into closing their doors.

Simon Harris writers about Hospital Equipment at http://www.hospital-equipment.org/

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What Does the Internet Have to Offer When it Comes to Hospital Equipment?

Many hospitals purchase their hospital equipment from local medical supply companies within their area but there are times when their staff will research and find other outlets in order to purchase from that will be more cost efficient for their hospital. There are many online retailers that the hospitals are able to take advantage of in order to purchase many of their supplies and equipment. Hospitals usually go through a purchasing process of discussions, research, and proposals before they actually put their signature on the dotted line and they have to make sure that they are getting the most up-to-date equipment as well.

The benefit that online retailers give to the medical industry when it comes to hospitals purchasing hospital equipment are the options and array of supplies that it gives. There is new technology coming out for the medical field every single day and hospitals have to be on top of this technology in order to stay with the competition that is in the business. You may think that there is no competition between hospitals and they are just there to take care of the number of people in that area but this is just not the case.

There are people who will travel far distances in order to visit a hospital that has more technology because they feel that they will get better results and their health situation will turn out a lot better. Hospitals that research the internet for better and more efficient types of hospital equipment will not only save themselves money in the long run, but will be able to acquire a new piece of equipment that their state may not have acquired yet within the local medical equipment supply companies. Every purchase that is made has to be the most advanced piece otherwise they would have to replace it soon costing them more money.

The internet allows them to view the hospital equipment that they are thinking about purchasing along with getting all of the information that they need about that specific piece of equipment. They will be able to contact the supply company so that they can discuss the purchase and the delivery of the item along with how the payment is to be made. The hospital administrators can do all of this within their own offices sitting at their desks. It saves the hospitals on hiring staff to go out and find the new technologies that are available.

Simon Harris writers about Hospital Equipment at http://www.hospital-equipment.org/

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