In a January 31, 2003 letter to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) (Footnote 2) commenting on its proposed new standards, leaders of the hospital bar made their position clear (Footnote 3). According to them, the medical staff is not an independent, self-governing body -it is just a part of the hospital, like the dietary department. In their view, the medi...

The creation of health care standards by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in a defined area with known events follows a predictable process. A problem area (e.g., hand hygiene) is identified from multiple sources. The JCAHO then calls together experts from around the country, and through debate and the comparison of positions of various people within the...

Since 1 July 2001 the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has required each accredited hospital to conduct at least one proactive risk assessment annually. Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) was recommended as one tool for conducting this task. This paper examines the limitations of FMEA and introduces a second tool used by the aviation and nuclear indus...