Jersey City Medical Center, a RWJBarnabas Health facility, has received ISO 9001:2008 certification.
“Management teams across a wide range of industries understand the importance of this certification,” said Joseph Scott, President/Chief Executive Officer of Jersey City Medical Center. “Completion of standardized ISO 9001:2008 process demonstrates an exceedingly high level of consistency and excellence.”
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) accreditation is a rigorous process in which a hospital improves and monitors the delivery of patient care, measures quality, and places the highest priority on eliminating errors. ISO standards are also used internationally in such fields as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, aerospace, and medical devices.
Jersey City Medical Center’s certification is with DNV- GNL, which works with healthcare providers, national and regional health authorities, and key stakeholders around the world to improve healthcare quality and facilitate the provision of patient-centered, safe care. It is the only healthcare accreditation board that includes both CMS standards and ISO 9001.
“This should demonstrate to patients as a hospital we’re committed to quality and standardization protocols within all levels of our organization,” said Scott
ISO standards are considered the “gold standard” in industries and are focused on measuring patient quality and requiring those organizations accredited to continuously improve their processes and procedures in order to reduce errors and improve patient satisfaction.
Hospitals embrace ISO 9001:2008 as a way to identify and focus on the most successful approaches to patient care and as a method to standardize the important aspects of operating a healthcare organization.
“This is more than an accreditation program, it’s a catalyst for our ongoing commitment to patient safety and clinical quality,” said Brenda Hall, SVP Patient Safety/Quality Management & Regulatory Affairs at Jersey City Medical Center. “By consistently following the processes we have in place we are able to provide the best possible patient care that supports positive outcomes.”
ISO 9001 has the element of continual improvement, added Hall, which is what makes the standard so unique and effective.
“All processes are monitored and once the processes meet the standard, we have to keep getting better,” she said. “The surveyors for accreditation want to know how you keep getting better, which forces continual improvements.”
While undergoing the accreditation review, a hospital makes critical decisions about processes such as how diseases are treated, medication is stored, nurse staffing is allocated and how billing and reimbursement are conducted.
“Accreditation impacts the way in which a hospital operates,” said Hall. “Through the ISO 9001 Quality Management System, significant emphasis is placed on proper documentation of all processes within the hospital. This ensures that when the most effective way of performing a process is found, the course of action is not just in the minds of the employees performing the tasks daily but is documented for future employees and future review.”