Relating autopsy requirements to the contemporary accreditation process.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has long been a strong proponent of the autopsy. Standards related to autopsies are clearly set forth in the current manual for hospitals. However, radical changes in the health care environment and in the philosophy of accreditation are placing the use of autopsy results in a new context. In that context, autopsy results are competing with other performance measures as drivers of quality improvement, and the autopsy itself is competing for scarce resources. A successful outcome will require autopsy advocates to persuade key audiences (viz, consumers, purchasers, and hospital executives) that autopsy findings lead to substantive improvements in the delivery of care, and that the autopsy is more worthy of support than other sources of performance data.