UCLA Study Finds Limitations in Publicly Reported Quality-of-Care Indicators for Heart Failure Patients

UCLA News

Academic researchers reported that all five standard hospital-based performance measures used to gauge quality of care for hospitalized heart failure patients may not be the best benchmarks, since none were significant predictors of patient mortality during the critical 60 to 90 days immediately following hospital discharge.

Published in the Jan. 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study found that none of the current measures used by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which accredits hospitals, and by the federal government through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to assess hospital performance were associated with a lower risk of mortality during the days immediately following hospital discharge, when adverse events are most likely to occur.

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JCAHO Accrediting "Tourism" Hospitals

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A number of major hospitals involved in medical tourism have been accredited by the Joint Commission International, affiliated with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, or JCAHO. JCAHO accredits U.S. hospitals. However, hospitals that don't seek accreditation from the Joint Commission International might be accredited by different organizations in their own countries.

Anne Rooney, executive director for international services at the Joint Commission International in Oak Brook, Ill., said the program is "heavily modeled on the JCAHO standards but there are differences to allow for differences" in medical practices and customs in other countries.

"The organization that is accredited has gone through a rigorous external evaluation process," Rooney said, noting that the commission's imprimatur is "the gold standard around the the world."

But worldwide, Rooney said, the Joint Commission International has accredited fewer than 100 hospitals. Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, and the Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India - both known for rolling out the red carpet and arranging lavish accommodations for medical tourists - are among them.