The role of accreditation in quality oversight and improvement under healthcare reform

Quality measurement and management are key components of the administration's healthcare reform proposal, and translating outcomes information into "report cards" for healthcare consumers and purchasers will create a "final common pathway to public accountability," according to Dennis S. O'Leary, MD, and Paul M. Schyve, MD, senior spokesmen for the Joint Commission on Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations. While the nature of the accreditation process as it currently exists may well change, the authors insist that the measurement and monitoring process that is ultimately adopted must include both performance standards and outcomes measures.