JCAHO accreditation: a challenge for subacute care providers.

Clearly, subacute care providers who are JCAHO accredited have a competitive edge over those who are not. As Medicare and Medicaid continue to shift to managed care plans and as employers' groups become more familiar with subacute care providers, those that can get accredited within 2 years will be in an excellent position to capture a large share of the market. The challenge, then, is how to prepare for a successful accreditation process.