Gooch & Associates, Inc.

International Services

Brian Gooch began his international experience in the first class of international surveyors at the Joint Commission in 1999. Now, Gooch and Associates continues to provide accreditation preparation and support to the international hospital community.

Nurse consultant works with staff at a Malaysian hospital.

Physician, nurse and administrator consultants, experienced in Joint Commission International accreditation standards, provide consultation services to our international clients. These services include:

1. Standard and custom education programs presented to key organization - management and medical staff regarding the Joint Commission International Accreditation Standards, the Measurable Elements used in scoring and the survey process itself.
2. Education program topics include, but are not limited to:
   • Application of the standards to the client’s culture
   • The medical consultant’s role in a successful accreditation
   • Preparing the organization for an accreditation survey
   • The Measurable Elements and how they are scored
   • The survey process and how to excel in it
3. A baseline evaluation (gap analysis) of the hospital organization, including:
   • Review of critical documents
   • Visits to care settings (clinical departments and patient units)
   • Practice interview sessions with appropriate leaders and staff
   • Report of findings with practical suggestions for correcting deficiencies
4. Assistance in development and implementation of an Action Plan that will lead to accreditation success.
5. Periodic, on-site support, coaching and interim assessments and progress adjustments.
6. Support on-site during and following the evaluation by the JCI accreditation team, if necessary.

Medical Tourism

Medical Tourism is the act of traveling from one’s own country to another country to seek medical services. And while there may be a “tourist” aspect to the trip usually during the recovery phase of treatment, I prefer the terms medical or health travelers. Whatever terms are used, it is a concept that is dramatically growing AND evolving. How does a potential medical traveler decide which country and which hospital within that country to seek services from? How does a hospital willing and able to provide services to international travelers differentiate itself from others offering the same services? Hospital accreditation is an obvious answer to both questions.

Gooch with Daljit Singh, CEO of Fortis Healthcare System, India

There are a number of accrediting bodies, most are specific to their own country or their region, e.g., Europe, Australia, etc. There are two generally accepted international accrediting bodies. One is ISO which seems more applicable to the industrial setting, though it can be used in a healthcare setting. The other is Joint Commission International Accreditation. It was specifically designed with a healthcare focus and to be applicable in any culture.

The consultants at Gooch & Associates gained their experience with the JCI international standards at the inception of the JCI program. Our consultants, employed at that time by the Joint Commission, were among the first to apply these standards as both consultants assisting the first hospitals to gain accreditation and as surveyors evaluating the first hospitals seeking accreditation.

We can provide that expertise and experience to your consultation. Specifically, we can support and guide your efforts to a successful accreditation decision. And, because we were trained by the JCI, we can provide insights as to what the JCI surveyors will be looking for and what questions they will ask. Call or email us to discuss how Gooch & Associates can meet your needs.

International Client Success

International Client Comments

Kent Hospital, Izmir, Turkey
General Manager & CEO

I am writing to thank you and your team at Gooch & Associates for your support in preparing us for our initial JCI accreditation survey. Our near perfect score for standards compliance speaks volumes about the success of your efforts. Others on the staff have told me that they particularly appreciated your educative approach. The medical staff, while not initially supportive, did come to see the value of the accreditation standards. That was to a large degree the result of your team’s striving to understand our culture and the way medical care is delivered in Turkey and your ability to develop solutions to fit our particular cultural and organizational setting.

Gooch and colleagues enjoy Bedouin hospitality

King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Saudi Arabia
Director, Performance Improvement

Brian was particularly skilled when working directly with our staff. He helped them learn and made them feel respected, with an easy but clear way to make his points so that staff were not embarrassed but felt they had learnt something. He was able to communicate equally well with senior executives and with new staff members. His understanding of the JCI standards and how to apply them in a practical way in different settings was an enormous help to us. The result was that King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center became the fourth hospital in the world accredited under the new JCI international accreditation system. And, we scored a 99%.