Joint Commission Confers First Integrated Care Certification
The initial certification belongs to Parrish Medical Center, a 210-bed, not-for-profit public medical center in Titusville, Fla., that is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network.
The Joint Commission has awarded its first Integrated Care Certification, a certification that was introduced in July 2015 to recognize hospitals and ambulatory care settings excellent at integrating information-sharing, transitions of care, hand-off communications, and other key activities as a patient
moves between the hospital and outpatient care settings. "The overarching goal is interactive engagement of providers and patients throughout the care cycle. By integrating care across the continuum, this positively affects patient outcomes," according to the commission.
The initial certification belongs to Parrish Medical Center, a 210-bed, not-for-profit public medical center in Titusville, Fla., that is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network.
"On behalf of The Joint Commission, I want to congratulate Parrish Medical Center on becoming the first organization in the country to earn the Integrated Care Certification," said Mark Pelletier RN, MS, chief operating officer of Accreditation and Certification Operations for the commission. "This certification recognizes Parrish Medical Center's dedication to improving patient outcomes with better coordinated care. It is also a benefit to the surrounding community Parrish serves, and it reflects its commitment to ensuring high-quality care transcends the walls of its hospitals."
According to the commission, Integrated Care Certification can help foster collaboration, highlight risk sharing, help to reduce adverse events, promote "patient centeredness," and help to identify and reduce redundancies.
"I want to congratulate The Joint Commission for establishing this groundbreaking certification program that recognizes the importance of integrated care for the benefit of the patients and communities we serve," said George Mikitarian, president and CEO of Parrish Medical Center. "We are therefore proud and humbled to be the nation’s first to earn Integrated Care Certification. Completing the voluntary certification process continues to afford us the opportunity to demonstrate that our community-based network of hospitals, physicians, and outpatient services are effectively working together to improve patient care and quality and to reduce costs."