The Joint Commission complex organization survey process and its impact on hospital-based home care and hospice providers.

The October and November 2004 HHN Accreditation Strategies columns addressed the new Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (Joint Commission) home care and hospice survey process describing in detail components of each survey activity. This column builds on the foundation laid in the two columns and focuses on survey process nuances for complex organizations, specifically pertaining to hospital-based agencies and hospices. Therefore, all discussion and examples in this column will pertain to home health agencies and hospices that are a department of a hospital seeking Joint Commission accreditation.