MakatiMed receives JCI accreditation

MANILA, Philippines - The Makati Medical Center recently received accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI), a milestone that serves as testament of the hospital’s rigid health and safety standards and commitment to superior patient care.

“Health care organizations around the world want to create environments that focus on quality, safety and continuous improvement,” said Paula Wilson, JCI president and chief executive officer.

“Accreditation meets this demand by stimulating continuous, systematic improvements in an organization’s performance and the outcomes of patient care. The community should be proud that Makati Medical Center has made a commitment to quality and safety,” Wilson added.

The accreditation is based on the fourth edition of the JCI Standards for Hospitals Manual, which took effect in January this year.

Improvements in this latest edition include the Quality and Improvement Patient Safety standard, which requires selection of five among 11 clinical measures from the JCI Library of Measures; and Medical Management and Use, where initial medication orders are compared to the list of those taken prior to admission.

Updates also include Assessment of Patient, which focuses on the timely reporting of critical laboratory test results; and Access to Care and Continuity of Care, which strengthens the integration of outpatient details for patients who undergo continuous care from multiple clinics.

MakatiMed is the first and only Philippine health institution to be certified with the fourth edition JCI accreditation, marking yet another milestone in the hospital’s rich heritage of excellent and compassionate patient care.

MakatiMed president Rosalie Montenegro said the JCI accreditation certifies MakatiMed as an institution that values quality and patient safety via world-class products and services, and publicly acknowledges its dedication to provide top-of-the-line medical care to individuals, both locally and regionally.

“We are extremely proud to have achieved this recognition, as this aptly affirms our longstanding commitment to regularly upgrade the level of patient safety in the Philippines,” Montenegro said.

She said accreditation is attainable only through collaboration among all of the organization staff members. “Providing high quality care is a team effort and one that gives employees a feeling of prestige to work in an accredited organization,” she said.

She added that the JCI accreditation is crucial to MMC’s 2012 and beyond strategy, a significant part of which is to promote medical tourism that the hospital will brand along the lines of Global Medical Access to differentiate MMC from the rest of the hospitals not only in the Philippines but in Asia.

“It is important that we convey how we are targeting serious medical cases on a program basis for groups of people, not just elective, one-off aesthetic cases which most countries promote,” Montenegro said.

JCI, the international arm of the Joint Commission, has been working with health organizations, ministries of health, and global organizations in over 80 countries since 1994.

JCI’s focus is on improving the safety of patient care through the provision of accreditation and certification services, as well as advisory and educational services aimed at helping organizations implement practical and sustainable solutions.

Organizations applying for the highly coveted accreditation undergo a meticulous screening process that evaluates their performance in areas that most directly impact patient care, including both clinical care and organizational management, such as access to care, assessment of patients, infection control, patient and family rights, and education.

Standards also address facility management and safety, staff qualifications, quality improvement and patient safety, organizational governance and leadership, and management of information and communications.

JCI’s uniform, high standards for patient care and safety are designed to be adaptable to local needs, thus accommodating legal, religious and cultural factors within a country.