DEFENSE HEALTH HEADQUARTERS, FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- "Everything revolves around safe patient care," said Maj. Anita Gould.
Gould, Deputy Director of High Reliability Organization and the Joint Commission Operations Officer at the Office of the Surgeon General, and Col. Ingrid Beard-Howell, currently at OTSG as a Dental Staff Officer for DCS Quality and Safety, each recently completed Training-with-Industry fellowships with The Joint Commission.
The Joint Commission is an independent, non-profit organization that accredits and certifies about 21,000 healthcare organizations in the United States and internationally. Healthcare facilities need accreditation to demonstrate to patients a commitment to excellence in healthcare quality, safety, and performance standards. Beard-Howell's fellowship concluded Nov. 4, 2016; Gould, a nurse, completed her fellowship the previous year.
The main purpose of the fellowship, Beard-Howell explained, is to learn about the accreditation process and bring that knowledge back to Army Medicine.
Originally called the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, the name was shortened in 2007. The fellowship was at the Joint Commission's headquarters at Oakbrook, Ill.
Although there are other organizations that provide accreditation to health care facilities, the Joint Commission is the largest by a wide margin and accredits about 88 percent of the hospitals in the U.S. Usually, one or two medical personnel from all three branches of military service at any one time are sent to the year-long fellowship.
The fellows study with subject matter experts on the elements of accreditation, education, and evidence-based practices that comprise quality and safety.
Quality and safety measures want to guarantee "zero preventable harm," said Gould.
"Our goal for the military is to ensure that we offer high reliability through what we do for our patients with quality and safety," said Beard-Howell. "We want to bring best practices from other organizations back to Army Medicine."
Army Medicine's training with industry programs aim to ensure the highest standards in Army MTFs, an important reason DoD seeks accreditation for its healthcare facilities. Accreditation ensures quality and safety are top priorities.
The Training with Industry Program is a work-experience program that provides extensive exposure to industry practices and procedures. Usually, officers for Training with Industry are competitively selected, and the program is considered a career enhancement. The quality and type of training through the program is not routinely available through the military schools or civilian universities.
Both Beard-Howell and Gould participated in at least a dozen site visits at both civilian and military MTFs.
After completion of the fellowship, an officer's utilization tour allows immediate application of the skills and experience just learned.
The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. To earn and maintain the Joint Commission's trademarked Gold Seal of Approval, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team at least every three years (laboratories every two years).
Beard-Howell is the first Army dentist to have done this fellowship and will likely be the lead in helping to ensure Army dental clinics meet accreditation standards.
Gould has been at OTSG about one year. She has accompanied the Center for Transforming Healthcare on site visits with Army MTFs to complete self-assessments through Oro 2.0 (a Joint Commission Tool), to determine where the organization is on their journey to becoming a High Reliability Organization. This effort translates to improving readiness and building confidence in our military MTFs.
To optimize Army medical readiness, learning and teaching partnerships are needed with the commercial sector, academic institutions, and government agencies. One way this is accomplished is through Training with Industry opportunities.
The time spent at the Joint Commission is a great asset. "We are learning from the best," said Gould.
"It was an invaluable experience," said Beard-Howell. "It helps the civilian organization have a better understanding of military medicine, but it also helps us to understand how the two entities have more similarities than differences when it comes to patient care and safety."
Reporting requirements for military MTFs are more stringent than for civilian facilities, so implementing and maintaining quality and safety standards are more critical.
Accreditation also demonstrates a commitment to continuously improve healthcare.
"Quality and safety impact readiness," said Gould. "If patients are not receiving care that embodies high reliability principles and imperatives, it affects the mindset of the Soldier, as well as their family members."
"I have the utmost confidence in our military medical system," said Beard-Howell. "If we see issues with quality and safety, we address it."
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