Modern Healthcare October 27, 2008 DNV Healthcare - (Page 2) Cover Story >> Jean DerGurahian DNV setting new standard Watch out Joint Commission. There’s a new accreditor in town, and some hospitals say they’re willing to give it a try W est Shore Medical Center doesn’t look like an automaker but it runs its operations the way a manufacturing plant might. The 54-bed hospital in Manistee, Mich., is certified as ISO 9001-compliant, a quality system standard maintained by the International Organization for Standardization that is widely used in the manufacturing world. Through the ISO program, West Shore has implemented a framework that provides a general set of management principles to dictate how it will perform quality control. The framework is the base on which all policies and procedures are built, said Mary Margaret Wilberg, director of performance improvement at West Shore. And having that in place makes all the difference for the hospital when it comes to patient outcomes, she said. Few American hospitals have implemented ISO 9001, although that might change as a new Medicare accrediting authority that relies on the standard ramps up its presence in the U.S. The accreditation program by DNV Healthcare, approved recently by the CMS, is a refreshing change to the standard processes now available in the healthcare industry, some executives say. “They had a way of drilling down to get the information they needed without being confrontational,” said Judith Purdy, director of risk and quali- ty management for 147-bed Hays (Kan.) Medical Center, which plans to become accredited through DNV. The timing comes just as DNV’s main competitor, the Joint Commission, received notice from the CMS that one of its accredi- DNV APPROACH DNV bases its approach to hospital accreditation on standards from the International Organization for Standardization that rely on the following principles: 1 Document what is done. 2 Establish a process for the service. 3 Perform to documentation. 4 Provide the service based on the process. 5 Record the results of work. 6 Appropriately maintain all recorded information. 7 Audit the documentation for effectiveness. 8 Audit using a process approach. Source: James Levett, Physicians’ Clinic of Iowa; DNV Web site tation programs does not meet requirements in Medicare’s conditions of participation. The commission must make changes to parts of its critical-access hospital accreditation program by May 20, 2009, or risk losing the CMS’ approval, according to a notice published in the Oct. 24 Federal Register. Medicare’s conditions are the first part of the DNV process. In addition to meeting those, hospitals will become ready for ISO 9001 certification through the DNV accreditation process. The ISO process is better known in industries such as auto manufacturing as a quality-management system with a heavy emphasis on leadership and accountability. Hospitals that establish quality-management systems are better equipped to reduce costs, manage work flow and improve health outcomes, according to DNV. The company was serving as a consultant for hospitals going through the Joint Commission survey, but agreed in writing to end that business once it became an accrediting authority, according to the CMS’ final notice that appeared in the Sept. 26 Federal Register. The DNV program could give the Joint Commission a run for its money. The Houston-based company’s arrival onto the accrediting scene gives hospitals the choice to go through a widely different process than what the commission offers, hospitals say. But as the new kid on the block, DNV faces an uphill battle in competing with the 50year-old Joint Commission. 2 Modern Healthcare • October 27, 2008
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