PRESS RELEASE - Rome, 24 September 2014
The prestigious accreditation of the Joint Commission International arrives
THE CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY POLICLINIC CONQUERS THE QUALITY 'STAR' IN HEALTHCARE
The Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital wins the star of the Joint Commission International (JCI), the international accreditation that certifies adherence to as many as 368 quality standards of the healthcare services provided. An acknowledgment that comes after passing the stringent checks by the international commissioners, who came from Chicago to scan every corner of the University Hospital, verifying the safety of the structure and all the services aimed at patients.
With this recognition, Italy thus conquers the 18th quality star in healthcare, consolidating its leadership in the European ranking of hospital facilities according to the international organization which today holds the strictest standards worldwide.
"Campus Bio-Medico has always been committed to placing the person at the centre, but we wanted this commitment to be measurable with objective parameters, based on the best international standards”- he comments Joaquin Navarro-Valls, President of the Campus Bio-Medico Committee which coordinated the accreditation activities.
The certification does not concern only the healthcare activity, but also teaching and research. The Campus Bio-Medico General Hospital is thus the first university hospital in the capital to obtain the prestigious recognition for Academic Medical Center Hospital. In all of Italy, only two other polyclinics - those of Udine and Trieste - boast the same quality certificate.
In Rome and Lazio, only one other structure is JCI accredited: the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital. Right here, last summer, following a sudden and violent fire, the application of JCI safety standards had allowed the rescue in a few minutes of small patients, some intubated.
Joint Commission International is an international organization based in Chicago, born 75 years ago in the USA to improve the quality of health care. Today it is the largest accreditation body in healthcare, with branches in 90 countries on every continent, where it inspects nearly 20 healthcare organizations and services. There are over 3 JCI accredited healthcare facilities in the United States.
"An absolute guarantee of quality and safety for our patients – comments the General Manager of the Campus Bio-Medico Polyclinic, Gianluca Oricchio –. To understand the severity of the JCI parameters, just scroll through the checklist for patient safety in the operating room: as many as 21 steps just to regulate the phase preceding anesthesia, the surgical phase and therefore exit from the room".
"The integration of teaching, research and clinical activity, with their different needs, is a challenging task for every University Hospital – explains the President ofUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Felice Barela - but precisely for this reason we have chosen to aim for JCI accreditation in the broadest form, including not only the health sector".
JCI accreditation is voluntary and constantly updated. Once the recognition has been achieved, the health facilities remain under close observation and the lack of adherence to a single standard is enough to lose the prestigious "star". Checks can also be triggered when problems detected by means of the press arise. Every three years, accredited facilities must undergo a new review, conducted on-site by Joint Commission International evaluators.
The JCI standards are the result of the consensus of the international scientific community, are developed and updated by a real task force of the organization, to be finally approved by an international Board.
Each standard corresponds to a level of quality required to obtain accreditation. Verification of compliance takes place through inspection visits by JCI experts, who assign a score to each standard that contributes to the overall score needed to obtain accreditation.
The 368 standards are grouped into 14 functions: 1- International goals for patient safety; 2- access to assistance and continuity of care; 3- rights of the patient and family members; 4- evaluation of the patient; 5- patient care; 6- anesthetic and surgical assistance; 7- management and use of drugs; 8- patient and family education; 9- improvement of quality and patient safety; 10- infection prevention and control; 11- government leadership and direction; 12- infrastructure management and security; 13- personnel qualifications and training; 14- communication and information management.
The objectives indicated for patient safety are particularly numerous, ranging from correct identification to the reduction of the risk of accidental falls, which in Italy represent one of the most frequent 'sentinel' risk events for hospitalized patients. Other objectives concern the safety of the administration of high-risk drugs, the correct procedures to best guarantee intervention in the operating room, the reduction of the risk of hospital infections and, last but not least, the effectiveness of communication towards the patient and between operators.
A checklist with a high patient protection index, now internationally certified for patients at the Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital.
JCI Accredited University Hospitals and Polyclinics in Europe
Italy 18
Austria 2
Belgium 3
Bulgaria 1
Denmark 10
Germany 4
Greece 1
Ireland 16
Lithuania 1
Netherlands 2
Portugal 7
Czech Rep. 4
Spain 9
Total 78
