The Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the continuation of deeming authority for The Joint Commission’s hospital accreditation program through July 15, 2014.
The CMS designation means that hospitals accredited by The Joint Commission may choose to be “deemed” as meeting Medicare and Medicaid certification requirements. For years, The Joint Commission had automatic deemed status to survey hospitals on behalf of CMS, but in 2008 CMS required The Joint Commission to reapply for this status. As a result, the commission needed to update some of its requirements to more closely align with the Medicare Conditions of Participation. (For example, see our recent article “Medical Staff Update: October 2009” for examples of changes affecting the medical staff.)
Accreditation by The Joint Commission is voluntary and seeking deemed status through accreditation is an option, not a requirement. Hospitals seeking Medicare approval may choose to be surveyed either by an accrediting body, such as The Joint Commission, or by state surveyors on behalf of CMS. All deemed status surveys are unannounced, a policy The Joint Commission instituted into its accreditation process in 2006.