White Paper: Active RFID Real-Time Location Solution Helps Hospital Always Be Prepared

The Joint Commission (until 2007 the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or JCAHO, pronounced "jay-co") is a not-for-profit organization within the United States whose sole purpose is to continuously advance and monitor patient safety and quality of care standards within healthcare organizations. Accreditation status impacts payers' decisions, and many Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) requirements overlap Joint Commission requirements. Achieving and maintaining accreditation are top priorities for hospitals.

In 2006, the Joint Commission moved to a random, unannounced survey process. Healthcare organizations must be "continuously survey ready". By living a policy of "JCAHO every day", healthcare organizations are more consistently compliant and the total staff disruption that formerly occurred for days and weeks before an announced visit is eliminated. Used in a healthcare setting, an active RFID asset management solution can provide real-time actionable information and support workflows to sustain many of the JCAHO standards for Management of the Environment of Care (EC).