I have no idea what the Joint Comm is but I’m sure most of these places are under regulation.
I have not had a problem with any of them. I’ve been through it many, many times, as have my parents and they are nearing Rivers’ age.
My intent is not to try to change your mind. We are all big boys and girls. So please take that to heart.
The joint commission is a national board of accreditation that perform inspections at hospitals to ensure that standards are maintained. Those standards apply to all aspects of hospitals. This goes from grading infectious disease control, re-admits, to communication to patients upon discharge.
If those standards are not met the hospitals lose accreditation. That means they are shut down.
The JC issues address hospitals only. Most states (I do not know the numbers, but I know it’s a large majority) do not regulate dr offices or specialized suites. It doesn’t mean they don’t have standards—it means they are not accredited and they do not have to formally report errors, infections, re-admits, etc. so unless you ask, there is probably no one watching.
Of course, if you can prove crappy controls you can legally get them with a malpractice suit. But, the horse is already out of the barn.
My source is my wife who works in a large hospital administration. She has had to become very knowledgeable about this stuff because of the infection reports and other “accountable care” metrics that are being forced on hospitals which will be the basis for reimbursements.
Of course things like chemo treatments are pretty routine and pose a low infection rate or post treatment problems. Of more concern would be the places that do out patient surgery (things like bunion surgery or bladder ablation procedures are two that come to mind). In these cases there is a much higher rate of post op infection and re-admits to the hospitals.
You may recall states limiting abortion clinics to Drs that have “admission” privileges at hospitals. The original purpose of those new rules is to “cover” the hospitals for having to clean up mistakes, post op bleeding, and infections for these pelvic procedures. They were NOT originally set up to limit abortions. It’s just a lot of hospitals will not give those doctors privileges because the post op issues are legion. And those bad marks end up hurting the hospital quality scores, which will impact reimbursement.
So, in the end if you are going to have a procedure with a higher than average risk of post op issues, you should consider the risk/reward of having it done in a surgical center versus in the hospital environment where they have access to support.
Of course everyone needs to make those calls for themselves.
Again, it is a personal issue. My explanation is not intended to do anything but educate. Please do not take it as a comment on your doctor, his place of business, or your choices.