References to JCAHO Standards in Other Standards Development

[MIREGMGR]

I'm currently attempting to research the proposed 2010 changes to NFPA 99:2005, "Health Care Facilities". Extensive changes are expected due to a conceptual focus change from a prescriptive installation-requirements approach to a patient-risk approach.

One of the professional organizations that has an advisory and contributing relationship with NFPA in regard to standards development is ASHE, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering. ASHE has brief outlines of their NFPA 99 proposals on their website. Apparently the substance of the proposals is considered proprietary until formally discussed by the NFPA Technical Coordinating Committee for 99 at NFPA's 2009 Conference.

Interestingly, though, ASHE's outline of their proposal pertaining to the imaging safety part of their hospital internal-environmental safety section lists two documentary references for hospital operational requirements. One is JCAHO's "Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals: The Official Handbook".

ASHE is advisory only, and can make any recommendations they want. NFPA, though, has a semi-official role. NFPA standards are broadly adopted across the US with force of local law. NFPA 99, in particular, is directly adopted as an FDA Recognized Consensus Standard, and also is indirectly referenced by other Recognized Consensus Standards, i.e. AAMI/ANSI PB70.

My view is that when a standard is officially accorded "force of law" via definition as a Recognized Consensus Standard, it should not be based on another standard that is proprietary and exists in a competitive context, with a less than complete consensus as to whether it represents best practices.

The JCAHO Accreditation Manual is a valuable guide, of course, but it naturally focuses on the JCAHO viewpoint as to how hospitals' QMSs should be structured. An ISO9001/13485 viewpoint also should be considered.

[AndyN]

With the (recent) release of the NIAHO - National Integrated Accreditation for Health Care Organizations document, shouldn't that offer a suitable, ISO 9000 based alternative?