The Relationship Between Patient Experience Special Care Measures and Joint Commission Accreditation Standards Compliance

Accreditation evaluates healthcare organization quality of care and patient safety processes, but the influence of this activity on the patient experience is not well understood. This study was designed to explore the relationship between accreditation survey scoring and patient experience of care using a subset of The Joint Commission (TJC) accreditation standards that are conceptually aligned with the Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) Special Care Issues composite. This was an observational study that used 2018 to 2019 CMS HHCAHPS data and TJC survey findings for 1464 accredited HHAs. The presence or absence of Requirements for Improvement (RFIs) indicating observed noncompliance and the Survey Analysis for Evaluating Risk (SAFER) score were used as independent variables in the analysis. Dependent variables included 3 HHCAHPS composite measures and 2 global rating measures. Data were analyzed using 2 sets of random effects logistic regression models. We found that an increase in RFIs scored on an HHA survey was associated with lower HHCAHPS score on all measures. When the frequency of RFIs and SAFER scores increased, there was a corresponding decline in HHCAHPS ratings, suggesting that patient experience ratings can potentially identify quality of care issues, when experience questions and quality concepts are sufficiently aligned. Adherence to Joint Commission accreditation standards may positively influence some aspects of the patient experience of care. While causality remains uncertain, accreditation appears to play a role in contributing to these outcomes.