1. Although many of our readers would be
familiar with Joint Commission and Joint Commission International, please
explain your organizations’ structure, function, mission and activities with
our readers.
The Joint Commission is an independent,
not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies health care
organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation
and certification is recognized throughout the US as a symbol of quality that
reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.
The mission of The Joint Commission is to continuously improve health care for
the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care
organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care
of the highest quality and value. In 1994, The Joint Commission extended this
mission outside the United States with the creation of Joint Commission
International (JCI).
Joint Commission International provides leadership
and innovative solutions to help health care organizations across all settings
improve performance and outcomes. Expert teams work with hospitals and other
health care organizations, health systems, government ministries, public health
agencies, academic institutions, and businesses to achieve peak performance in
patient care.
JCI helps organizations to help them through:
• Earning JCI
accreditation and certification, recognized as the global Gold Seal of
Approval®
• Providing leading
education
2. JCI is working to improve healthcare
quality and patient safety around the world. We assume that healthcare systems
in each country must have various differences based on country’s culture,
system, and people. How do you manage to overcome cultural barriers and offer
right directions for healthcare providers in each country?
There is much that is universal about safe
practices in health care, and we share this across borders throughout the
world. We are also pay careful attention to cultural differences and have
implemented this through regional offices and staff.
We understand that local needs vary and
diverse cultures present unique patient care challenges. Yet, our singular
focus on the highest patient care standards and results-oriented process
improvement has earned the respect of health care leaders from around the
world.
3. As the leader of JCI and healthcare service
industry’s key opinion leader, where do you think the healthcare service
industry is headed? What do you think is the most important issue in the
industry?
The biggest issue facing the healthcare
service industry is delivering high quality, affordable services, safely. This
is especially important as virtually all parts of the world are seeing older
populations with rapidly growing rates of chronic disease. Private and public
payers are expecting better value from providers and health care leaders are
feeling this pressure.
4. There are over 24 healthcare providers in
South Korea which have been accredited by JCI. What are JCI’s business
strategies in Asian region including Korea? How do you value East Asian
countries and their healthcare providers?
The east Asian countries present a unique
opportunity, with the dichotomy of both the emerging economies and emerged
economies working side by side. JCI has a very strong focus in East Asia,
including Korea. Our goal is to partner with healthcare organizations who want
to embark on the journey of continuous improvement in patient safety and
quality. At the same time we are also in discussions with the Ministries of
Health to look at opportunities to create awareness through education,
consulting services to help upgrade the health services as well as to build
capabilities in the region and also to raise the bar to be at par with western
economies.
Healthcare providers are making rapid progress
especially in the private sector with a lot of investment in new hospitals and
in emerging markets. It is encouraging to see new hospitals are looking for
international accreditation as they are being built. We are investing time and
effort in the region to be part of this journey of continuous improvement for patients’
safety and quality.
5. You have long teaching experiences
including teaching at Columbia University and New York University. Teaching
students and managing huge entities seems very different tasks to conduct. How
did you transit yourself from an educator to a business leader? Or how do you
manage to combine all those experiences synergistically?
My transition from an academic environment to
running a business was relatively smooth. It was made easier by the fact that I
held fairly large management positions earlier in my career, before I became a
college professor. Also, I believe that a good leader needs to be a good
teacher. Leaders need to be able to communicate the vision and strategy of an
organization to the people who work there. They need to be inspiring to the
work force and other constituencies with the operational discipline to get the
work done. This is very similar to the essence of what a teacher does in the
classroom.