Seeking medical treatment in early 19th century America was a risky and frightening endeavor. The quality of early American medicine was subpar, disorganized, and frequently deadly. During this time, medical schools and treatment facilities were proprietary and for-profit institutions. Bribery and coercion were often used to buy medical degrees, and grant privileges to physicians who were grossly unqualified to practice medicine. As a result, many patients and their families avoided medical treatment at that time and considered hospitals their last resort. In an attempt to improve the condition of the nation’s healthcare system, several physicians, and charitable organizations formed the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1847. The AMA enlisted the efforts of Abraham Flexner, a renowned scholar, to investigate the deplorable state of America’s medical schools and hospitals. Flexner’s Report to the Carnegie Foundation was published in 1910 and began a revolution in patient care. The report found surgical supplies stored in cigar boxes, unsanitary surgical theaters, and a lack of disinfectant procedures.
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The ACS’s Hospital Standardization Program was designed by Ernest Codman, a surgeon from Harvard Medical School. Codman based the program on his three-step approach to quality assurance he called his, “End Result System” (Chassin & O'Kane). Examining Codman’s minimum standards through a modern lens sharpen the focus on how dire the situation was at the time. The five basic minimum standards included requirements such
The ACS’s Hospital Standardization Program was designed by Ernest Codman, a surgeon from Harvard Medical School. Codman based the program on his three-step approach to quality assurance he called his, “End Result System” (Chassin & O'Kane). Examining Codman’s minimum standards through a modern lens sharpen the focus on how dire the situation was at the time. The five basic minimum standards included requirements such