UCAOA and Joint Commission Form Alliance
The Joint Commission and the Urgent Care Association of America (UCAOA) have partnered to provide quality oversight for urgent care clinics, which provide walk-in treatment for many injuries, illnesses, and conditions ranging from minor sore throats to head injuries. There are an estimated 8,000 urgent care centers in the United States.
Both organizations currently provide accreditation for urgent care clinics, but in the new alliance the UCAOA will discontinue its accreditation program and focus its support on services available under The Joint Commission’s ambulatory care accreditation program. The collaboration will include development of quality standards specific to urgent care, targeted for introduction in 2010.
“Joint Commission accreditation encompasses an on-site evaluation of an urgent care center’s compliance with rigorous national standards,” says Charles A. Mowll, executive vice president, The Joint Commission. “Achieving Joint Commission accreditation helps the urgent care center improve and provide the public with a marker of quality.”
“Urgent care centers are an essential part of the healthcare system in communities across the U.S. and internationally — not only because of their ease of access but their ability to treat a broad scope of illness and injury,” says Lou Ellen Horwitz, executive director, UCAOA. “Our collaboration with The Joint Commission will help us continue to focus our quality assurance efforts specifically on urgent care, but on a worldwide scale.”
Many patients seek treatment at urgent care centers because a wide range of care is available, no appointment is required and the centers are open nights, weekends and holidays. Nurses, doctors, technologists and other health care professionals provide treatment for conditions such as allergies, sports injuries, sprains, colds and flu, back pain, and fractures.