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JCAHO 2004:
Focus on Patient Care

Expect a new experience with the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in 2004. JCAHO is expected to come to BIDMC in October, and this visit promises to be different from previous surveys.

“We expect to see JCAHO surveyors out on the units and in clinics much more than before,” says Ken Sands, M.D., vice president of health care quality. “There will be less emphasis on policies and documentation and more on patients’ actual care experiences here at BIDMC.” In fact, the majority of the survey will involve “tracing” the experience of selected actual patients by going to any setting in which the patient received care and investigating processes in that area.

This new approach increases the likelihood that individual patient care staff will directly interact with JCAHO surveyors in October. “The quality of practice in the localized setting will be very much on display,” says Sands. “This gives us a wonderful opportunity to showcase what we do best. It also places more personal responsibility on each of us to be prepared to demonstrate what we know.”

Also new for the 2004 survey is a priority on patient safety, including new standards with implications for everything from identification of patients to infection control.

In preparation for the survey, a self-assessment was completed at BIDMC in fall 2003 and several workgroups have been formed. As with the last survey in 2001, BIDMC staff will receive updates and refresher information in the months leading to the survey, says Anne Marie Jarvey, director of professional staff and regulatory affairs in health care quality. The first step began March 1 with revamping of the policies, procedures and guidelines section of the BIDMC general Web portal. Now, users can search this section by key word, which will list all entries that relate to the key word.

Look for updates on the JCAHO survey starting next month.


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Published monthly for the people of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to build community, communicate direction, foster pride and recognize accomplishments.

Produced by Beth Israel Deaconess communications, (66)7-7300

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BIDMC Research Makes
Headlines Around the World

Above, Steven D. Freedman, M.D., Ph.D., and the issue of NEJM featuring his study below.

The spotlight has been on BIDMC and its researchers over the past several months, following the publication of four articles — including three on consecutive weeks in late January and early February — in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

“The NEJM is the country’s oldest and one of its most respected scientific journals,” explains BIDMC Chief Academic Officer Jeffrey Flier, M.D. “Its articles are reviewed by leading physicians under the strictest of editorial standards. That BIDMC has been prominently featured in recent issues once again speaks to the strength and leadership of our research program, and the world-class investigators who work here.”

The four articles and the ensuing media stories covered a wide range of medical territory:

 A study by Steven D. Freedman, M.D., Ph.D., gastroenterology, demonstrated that cystic fibrosis patients have an imbalance of fatty acids in their tissues, a finding that could eventually lead to a treatment for this childhood genetic disorder;

 A study by S. Ananth Karumanchi, M.D., nephrology, revealed important new information about the development of preeclampsia, which could help doctors in diagnosing this life-threatening complication of pregnancy;

 A review article by Abraham Morgentaler, M.D., urology, examined more than 70 studies dealing with testosterone replacement therapy for men, concluding that there is no significant evidence linking it to an increased incidence of prostate cancer or cardiovascular disease.

An editorial co-authored by Martina Morrin, M.D., radiology, and J. Thomas LaMont, M.D., gastroenterology, described the potential risks and benefits of virtual colonoscopy, a method of screening patients for colon and rectal cancer that is less invasive than traditional screening colonoscopy.

Stories about these NEJM articles subsequently appeared in prominent media outlets across the country, including The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and “ABC World News Tonight,” as well as in many other newspapers, Web sites, and on television and radio stations around the world.

“I’m extremely proud of the important work being done here in our institution and the well-deserved recognition that it has received,” adds Flier. “BIDMC patients benefit from research both directly and indirectly — directly, because research leads to new therapies and diagnostic methods, and indirectly, because BIDMC’s world-renowned research program encourages the best doctors to practice here.”

For a complete listing of BIDMC staff recently featured in the media, see “In the News” in BIDMCtoday online. To learn more about the articles that appeared in NEJM, click on “In the News” on the BIDMC Web portal, where you can find current and archived press releases and news clips.

Lights, camera, action!

BIDMC physicians, nurses and other staff members often serve as expert commentators in media interviews about current medical topics. Last year, BIDMC's media relations group received hundreds of requests for interviews with BIDMC staff from local, national and international media outlets. You can find out when BIDMC staff members are going to appear on television by joining BIDMC's Media Alert list. To sign up, send an e-mail to jberger@bidmc.harvard.edu.


Robbin Ray (left), medical producer for WHDH-TV (Channel 7) news, interviews nurse Holly Dowling for a series that the station will run later this month.