Opened in February 2015, the Center for Colon and Digestive Diseases is a state-of-the-art facility. It is a Joint Commission-accredited and Medicare-certified facility where colonoscopies and endoscopies are performed. The Center for Colon and Digestive Diseases is a collaborator in the National Quality Improvement Registry (GIQuIC), which measures the quality of endoscopy services.
"We are committed to tracking, measuring and reporting our quality because we believe benchmarking will improve the quality of our endoscopic exams and ultimately improve patient outcomes," said Afsar Waraich, M.D. "Contributing patient data to GIQuIC is just one way our practice strives to put patients first. GIQuIC is a measurable way we can demonstrate our care for patient health and safety."
Dr. Waraich, our endoscopist, is board-certified with more than 25 years of experience and has performed more than 40,000 GI procedures. We specialize in screening colonoscopies, which help to prevent colon cancer. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (803) 226-0734.
What is The Joint Commission?
The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization. The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization's commitment to meeting certain performance standards.
What is the mission of The Joint Commission?
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.
What are the benefits of The Joint Commission?
Helps organize and strengthen patient safety efforts - Patient safety and quality of care issues are at the forefront of Joint Commission standards and initiatives.
Strengthens community confidence in the quality and safety of care, treatment and services - Achieving accreditation makes a strong statement to the community about an organization's efforts to provide the highest quality services.
Provides a competitive edge in the marketplace - Accreditation may provide a marketing advantage in a competitive health care environment and improve the ability to secure new business.
Improves risk management and risk reduction - Joint Commission standards focus on state-of-the-art performance improvement strategies that help health care organizations continuously improve the safety and quality of care, which can reduce the risk of error or low-quality care.
May reduce liability insurance costs - By enhancing risk management efforts, accreditation may improve access to and reduce the cost of liability insurance coverage.
Provides education to improve business operations - Joint Commission Resources, the Joint Commission's not-for-profit affiliate, provides continuing support and education services to accredited organizations in a variety of settings.
Provides professional advice and counsel, enhancing staff education - Joint Commission surveyors are experienced health care professionals trained to provide expert advice and education services during the on-site survey.
Provides a customized, intensive review - Joint Commission surveyors come from a variety of health care industries and are assigned to organizations that match their background. The standards also are specific to each accreditation program, so each survey is relevant to your industry.
Enhances staff recruitment and development - Joint Commission accreditation can attract qualified personnel, who prefer to serve in an accredited organization. Accredited organizations also provide additional opportunities for staff to develop their skills and knowledge.
Provides deeming authority for Medicare certification - Some accredited health care organizations qualify for Medicare and Medicaid certification without undergoing a separate government quality inspection, which eases the burdens of duplicative federal and state regulatory agency surveys.
Recognized by insurers and other third parties - In some markets, accreditation is becoming a prerequisite to eligibility for insurance reimbursement and for participation in managed care plans or contract bidding.
Provides a framework for organizational structure and management - Accreditation involves preparing for a survey and maintaining a high level of quality and compliance with the latest standards. Joint Commission accreditation provides guidance to an organization's quality improvement efforts.
May fulfill regulatory requirements in select states - Laws may require certain health care providers to acquire accreditation for their organization. Those organizations already accredited by The Joint Commission may be compliant and need not undergo any additional surveys or inspections.
Provides practical tools to strengthen or maintain performance excellence - The Leading Practice Library offers good practices submitted by accredited organizations. The Targeted Solutions Tool®, an interactive web-based tool from the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, allows accredited organizations to measure their organization's performance and helps them find customized solutions for challenging health care problems.
Aligns health care organizations with one of the most respected names in health care - Being accredited by The Joint Commission helps organizations position for the future of integrated care.
What is GIQuIC?
Why does quality measurement matter?
Physicians can compare their endoscopic performance to their peers on a local, regional or national scale. GIQuIC collects essential data following evidence-based quality indicators and key performance metrics derived from a joint report by ACG and ASGE entitled, "Quality Indicators for Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Procedures."
Why is GIQuIC important?
With health care reform in the national spotlight, GIQuIC is one avenue to measure quality in endoscopy, in particular, colonoscopy. The program documents the quality of care provided by tracking how well the physician does in terms of seeing the entire colon, finding growths or polyps, and in the rare instance, reporting any complications.
What quality measures are used in GIQuIC?
One of the most widely accepted measures of quality in colonoscopy is the "cecal intubation rate." That's a measure of the completeness of a colonoscopy exam and indicates how well the physician does with the colonoscope in reaching an anatomical landmark in the colon, the cecum. Reaching the cecum is generally considered a thorough examination of the entire colon. Another measure of a quality exam is detection of polyps or growths in the colon. Does measuring quality mean my doctor needs to improve? Actually, this commitment to measure quality means that your physician is a leader in a growing national trend to measure and document performance as a way to constantly monitor and improve outcomes for patients. Many physicians have recognized that they must take the lead in setting the standard for what constitutes "quality" in terms of medical procedures and clinical care – rather than have those standards set by the government or insurance companies. The willingness to track and measure performance is a sign of your physician's commitment to what is best for you, the patient. Participating in GIQuIC is one way a physician can demonstrate their care for your health and safety.