Safety culture expert: 3 things to do instead of making accreditation reports public

Safety culture expert Christina Thielst penned a column on Multi Briefs about CMS' proposal to make accreditation findings publically available.

Ms. Thielst said she has participated in the accreditation process in both the private and public sectors, but believes the proposal is troubling for several reasons including the potential misuse or misunderstanding of information and the potential reveal of confidential internal quality/performance improvement information.

She wrote, "Making the details of survey reports available will impede the flow of information and interfere with this the performance of this important component of every hospital’s quality improvement program."

She argues the data could be overwhelming for the general public who have "low health literacy rates."

Instead of releasing all data, Ms. Thielst believes current policy should be followed and recommends both accrediting organizations and CMS:

1. Stop shifting private accrediting organizations away from "their role evaluating adherence to standards of care and toward inspecting for regulatory compliance."
2. Provide the public with summarized information that's presented to consumers in an easy to understand method.
3. Comply to agreement terms and hold hospitals accountable for serious mishaps and errors.

More articles on accreditation:
The Joint Commission leader to know: Michael Kulczycki
AAAHC Surveyor to know: Terry Hawes
What ASCs can do to correct The Joint Commission's most violated standard

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