Answer for BHA-FPX 4006 Assessment 4: Voluntary Accreditation

Answer for BHA-FPX 4006 Assessment 4: Voluntary Accreditation

Answer for BHA-FPX 4006 Assessment 4: Voluntary Accreditation

The Healthcare industry is one of the largest sectors due to the fact that matters related to people’s health and disease management fall into this industry. It is, therefore, not surprising that over the years, there have been calls from various quarters for the healthcare services offered to the public to be better and better and be fulfilling. In response, the health care leaders and managers have embarked on using various strategies to improve the healthcare services offered. The implication is that such services and actions need to be regulated and must comply with the requirements of the regulatory bodies (Hussein et al., 2021). Therefore, it is imperative that the health care leaders and managers have a knowledge of the best practice, such as compliance practices, to meet specific standards of the industry and know the best approaches to regulatory compliance. Therefore the purpose of this summary brief is to explore how the Joint Commission accreditation assists organizations in adhering to the regulatory requirements, meeting stakeholders’ needs, and improving quality. Besides, the write-up will formulate a recommendation regarding other accrediting bodies that can be of benefit to the organization. 

Accreditation In Health Care  

Accreditation in health care entails an external review showing that a particular healthcare provider is meeting the standards and regulations that have been set by the external accreditation organization. Accreditation in healthcare is one of the responses which came in place to help regulate the quality of health care both externally and internally. Accreditation started in the 20th century by the American College of the surgeon (Barghouthi & Imam, 2018). Since then, accreditation in healthcare has been practiced throughout the world with the major aim of improving healthcare quality. 

Accreditation Requirements 

Hospitals need to meet various eligibility requirements for them to be considered for accreditation. In the US, the healthcare organization has to be within the USA territories, or, in the case that it is outside the US, then to be operated under the US Congress charter or by the US government. The organization also has to meet the parameters for the minimum volume of service or number of in patients needed for the organization to seek accreditation (Bogossian, F., & Craven, 2020). For example, the facility must have an average daily census of twenty-one or offer an inpatient record for at least ten percent of the average daily census. 

Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance 

Accreditation and regulations are two of the strategies used in improving the services offered by healthcare facilities to help improve patient outcomes. However, the two are not identical, even though there are various similarities between them. Regulation refers to rules that have been set aside and have to be followed by the organizations; on the other hand, accreditation is the seal of approval as obtained from an independent accrediting body (Braithwaite et al., 2017). Such accrediting body certifies that the particular organization or facility has met some send standards. It is worth noting that as far as the health care sector is concerned, accreditation is usually essential such that most of such requirements bear the same weight as regulations. 

In most cases, much of what individuals referred to as regulation is accreditation. The major reason is that it happens in a setting where lack of accreditation has impacts close to non-adherence to the regulations. In terms of potency, regulation tops accreditation since compliance with the healthcare rules is mandatory (Braithwaite et al., 2017). In other words, no healthcare professional or hospital has to be accredited, even though many prefer it. However, failing to adhere to the set rules usually result in penalties.  

In addition, while regulations have to be followed as failure to comply usually attracts penalties of varied weight, the accreditation process is voluntary. Therefore, during accreditation, the organization demonstrates that all the operations and programs have been implemented according to the relevant standards through a thorough process undertaken by a third-party entity. Nonetheless, the regulating agencies usually need accreditation if they are to certify or license an organization (Braithwaite et al., 2017). Based on the accrediting body, the accreditation process is a repetitive process, usually happening after every two to four years. 

Accreditation plays a critical role in helping healthcare o