The agency that surveys and accredits hospitals and some other health facilities and programs as fulfilling their standards.
A private, non-profit organization whose purpose is to encourage the attainment of uniformly high standards of institutional medical care. Comprised of representatives of the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, and American College of Surgeons, the organization establishes guidelines for the operation of hospitals and other health facilities and conducts survey and accreditation programs. A staff of medical inspectors will visit hospitals by invitation and examine the operation of the hospital, the organization of its medical staff and its patient records. Hospitals with 25 or more beds are eligible for review. On the basis of inspection reports, the hospital may be granted ”full accreditation” (for three years), “provisional accreditation” (one year), or none. Accreditation has been used by, or adopted as a requirement of specific public programs and funding agencies, e.g., hospitals participating in the Medicare program arc deemed to have met most conditions of participation if they are accredited by the JCAH.