OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL--(Marketwire - August 4, 2010) - A free monograph released today by The Joint Commission, entitled "Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient- and Family-Centered Care: A Roadmap for Hospitals," provides recommendations to inspire hospitals to address unique patient needs and comply with new standards for patient-centered communication.
In August 2008, The Joint Commission, with funding from The Commonwealth Fund, began an initiative to advance the issues of effective communication, cultural competence, and patient- and family-centered care in hospitals. The project was directed by Paul Schyve, M.D., senior vice president, The Joint Commission, and Amy Wilson-Stronks, M.P.P., project director, Division of Quality Measurement and Research, and principal investigator for The Joint Commission study Hospitals, Language, and Culture. The focus of the project was to develop accreditation standards for the hospital program and a monograph to help hospitals better meet patient needs. The Joint Commission collaborated with the National Health Law Program to develop the Roadmap for Hospitals.
"We want to inspire hospitals to integrate effective communication, cultural competence, and patient- and family-centered care into their organizations," says Dr. Schyve. "By giving hospitals this Roadmap, we are providing them with the methods to begin or improve upon their efforts to ensure that all patients receive the same high quality care."
Effective communication, cultural competence, and patient- and family-centered care are not stand-alone initiatives. A hospital must embed these practices in the core activities of its system of care delivery to truly meet the needs of the patients, families, and communities served. The recommendations in the Roadmap for Hospitals do not encompass every aspect of these three areas, but represent key issues that hospitals should consider to meet the unique needs of each patient. Practice examples and recommendations address various issues including race, ethnicity, language, culture, health literacy, other communication barriers, mobility needs, and the concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender patients. The Joint Commission encourages hospitals to adopt a combination of the practices discussed and to use these examples as a foundation for creating processes, policies, and programs that are best suited for their organizations.
Many of the recommendations included in the Roadmap for Hospitals originated during the development of The Joint Commission's new patient-centered communication standards. The patient-centered communication standards were approved in December 2009 and released to the field in January 2010. The standards will be published in the 2011 hospital accreditation manual. Joint Commission surveyors will evaluate compliance with the patient-centered communication standards beginning January 1, 2011; however, findings will not affect the accreditation decision at that time. The information collected by Joint Commission surveyors and staff during this pilot implementation phase will be used to prepare the field for full implementation by answering common implementation questions and concerns. Inclusion of the patient-centered communication standards in the accreditation decision is targeted for January 2012. The Roadmap for Hospitals includes example practices and "how to" information to help hospitals comply with the new standards.
To access the complete text of the Roadmap for Hospitals, visit The Joint Commission website at www.jointcommission.org. For more information about the Roadmap for Hospitals, please contact Christina Cordero, Ph.D., M.P.H., at ccordero@jointcommission.org or 630.792.5845.
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 17,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 9,500 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,300 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. In addition, The Joint Commission also provides certification of more than 1,000 disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.
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