Official certification (by an organization that has responsibility for reviewing the standards) that established standards have been met, such as the process by which hospitals and health facilities are surveyed and approved by The Joint Commission (TJC) (formerly Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations [JCAHO]).
A process by which hospitals and health facilities are surveyed and approved by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals as measured against standards set by the commission.
Acknowledgment by an outside group that an educational institution or program meets certain standards.
The process by which an agency- or organization evaluates and recognizes a program of study or an institution as meeting certain predetermined standards. The recognition is called accreditation. Similar assessment of individuals is called certification. Standards are usually defined in terms of: physical plant, governing body, administration, medical and other staff, and scope and organization of services. Accreditation is usually given by a private organization created for the purpose of assuring the public of the quality of the accredited (such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals). Accreditation standards and individual performance with respect to such standards are not always available to the public. In some situations public governments recognize accreditation in lieu of, accept it as the basis of, or require it as a condition of licensure. Public or private payment programs often require accreditation as a condition of payment for covered services. Accreditation may either be permanent once obtained or for a specified period of time. Unlike a license, accreditation is not a condition of lawful practice but is intended as an indication of high quality practice, although where payment is effectively conditioned on accreditation it may have the same effect.
A process of: (1) evaluation of an institution or education program to determine whether it meets the standards set up by an accrediting body, and (2) if the institution or program meets the standards, granting recognition of the fact. Accreditation is a process performed by a non-governmental agency at the request of the institution or education program. Although governmental agencies carry out evaluation and recognition processes on a mandatory basis for licensure purposes, these processes are not accreditation.
Formal recognition by an impartial body that an educational faculty or health care institution has met established quality benchmarks. In the U.S. there are two types of educational accreditation: institutional and specialized. The former recognizes the institution for having facilities, policies, and procedures that meet accepted standards. The latter recognizes specific programs of study within institutions for having met established standards.