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JCAHO liability reform urges strengthening of competency oversight

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, February 10, 2005

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The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) recently called for reform in the nation's medical liability system, urging that current proposals for non-economic damages caps be expanded to pursue intermediate and long-term system changes that truly assist the improvement of patient safety. The reform proposal is laid out in the JCAHO's newest public policy white paper, "Health Care at the Crossroads:  Strategies for Improving the Medical Liability System and Preventing Patient Injury."

The report urges intensified attention to patient safety and medical injury prevention by health care providers and practitioners; emphasizes the critical importance of open communication between patients and practitioners; and urges the creation of an injury compensation system that is patient-centered and serves the common good.  Specific recommendations address the need to encourage the creation of cultures of safety in health care organizations as well as strengthening oversight and accountability mechanisms for ensuring the competency of doctors and nurses.

Any redesign of the medical liability system, the report suggests, should assure appropriate compensation for all injured patients, while also encouraging health care providers and practitioners to surface errors, learn from mistakes in the design and performance of care processes, and take action to ensure that adverse events do not recur. 

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