As the accreditor for over 22,000 healthcare facilities, the Joint Commission plays an important role in setting standards for quality and patient safety. It also evaluates the governing bodies and governance structures of healthcare organizations, ranging from acute care facilities and small not-for-profits to large, for-profit multi-hospital systems. Healthcare organizations are focusing more clearly on the benefits of greater system-wide board collaboration on quality of care and patient safety for the business enterprise as a whole.

On this episode of the Governing Health podcast, Michael Peregrine is joined by the Joint Commission’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ana McKee and its General Counsel Lisa Vandecaveye, as well as McDermott Will & Emery partner Sandy DiVarco, to discuss the Commission's role in quality assessment and improvement programs. This episode explores:

• The objective, mission and philosophy of the Joint Commission and its view of the governing body's responsibilities
• The four domains the Joint Commission uses for assessing the efficacy of healthcare boards
• How hospital governing bodies are defined for purposes of accreditation and how they relate to large multi-hospital systems
• Questions a hospital's governing board should expect from a Joint Commission surveyor.