Per the notice below, the Joint Commission has launched a new accreditation system for hospitals and other health care organizations.

Joint Commission Launches a Transformative Approach to Healthcare Accreditation

Underpinned by technology and data analytics, Accreditation 360: The New Standard, reduces burden, introduces outcome-based measures and enhances patient safety and quality care 

Joint Commission today launched Accreditation 360: The New Standard, a transformational approach to hospital and healthcare accreditation and certification.  Leveraging data analytics with a focus on benchmarking and outcomes, Accreditation 360 is designed to dramatically streamline and simplify processes, provide better support, and more efficiently share best practices across the healthcare ecosystem, ultimately redefining how the healthcare industry delivers the highest levels of healthcare quality and safety.

“Healthcare organizations today are navigating historic complexity, and the pressures are enormous,” says Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, president and CEO of Joint Commission.  “Healthcare is also changing, and Joint Commission must change, too.  Accreditation 360 directly responds to what this moment demands.  Designed by a team of operationally experienced healthcare leaders, this new model removes standards whose time has passed, and we are introducing a suite of novel tools for benchmarking and performance support.  Reducing burden helps busy clinicians and healthcare organizations focus on what matters most: delivering the safest, highest-quality and most compassionate healthcare possible.”

Specifically, Accreditation 360 introduces:

1. Simplified Accreditation Process: To make accreditation smarter, lighter and more aligned with how care is delivered today, two new products will be available to healthcare organizations:
1.  An updated Accreditation Manual that more clearly identifies Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-directed Conditions of Participation (CoPs), while the remaining requirements and National Patient Safety Goals are being merged into Joint Commission National Performance Goals (NPGs).
2. A Continuous Engagement Model option that offers the opportunity for ongoing support to drive successful safety and quality practices and perpetual survey readiness.

Building on the reduction of 400 requirements announced in 2023, Joint Commission is removing an additional 714 requirements from the hospital accreditation program.  And, in a move towards greater transparency, starting in July, Joint Commission standards will be available online and will be searchable by the public.

2. Streamlined Patient Safety Practices: Joint Commission has organized and simplified its accreditation requirements into 14 NPGs, covering critical areas that all would agree are shared goals to prevent patient harm, improve outcomes, and create a safer environment for all.
3. Certifications Focused on Outcome Measures: To shift the focus from observation of structure and process to outcome measures, The National Quality Forum (NQF), an affiliate of JC, is introducing a next-generation certification program, starting with four key areas prioritized by patients, clinicians, health systems, payers, and purchasers: Maternity Care; Hip & Knee Procedural Care; Spine Procedural Care; Cardiovascular Procedural Care.
4. Broadened Resources: Joint Commission is introducing the Survey Analysis For Evaluating STrengths (SAFEST) Program to recognize leading practices at accredited organizations and to support the dissemination of safety and quality improvement insight.  This will ultimately evolve into a database of leading practices where surveyors can access organizations’ performance strengths for industry-wide collaborative learning.

"Accreditation is about both upholding the public trust in safety and supporting healthcare organizations in driving their quality agenda," added Dr. Perlin.  “Our new leadership team is comprised of clinicians and healthcare executives who have been on the other side of accreditation surveys.  We believe the accreditation process can and should also be about supporting, troubleshooting and best-practice sharing—and Accreditation 360 reflects that.  Healthcare leaders across the country contributed to the design of this new model and we are proud to bring it forward.”

Hospital and healthcare accreditation has long played a critical role in supporting patient safety.  In its earliest iterations, accreditation aimed to set a minimum standard of care for healthcare organizations to follow—and now, more prominently, sets standards for high-quality patient care and enhancing public trust.  While standards are continually evaluated and updated for relevancy, the introduction of Accreditation 360 marks the most significant, comprehensive evolution of Joint Commission’s accreditation process since 1965.

“In today’s complex healthcare environment, accreditation must not only ensure safety and quality but also support the realities of how care is delivered across diverse organizations and geographies,” says Laura S. Kaiser, FACHE, president and CEO, SSM Health.  “With Accreditation 360, Joint Commission is responding to what health systems like ours have long needed—timely, practical support that aligns with how care is delivered today.  This new model reflects a deep understanding of the pressures we face and offers a more collaborative, outcomes-focused approach to accreditation that helps us better serve our patients and communities.”

Additional guidance and information, including a rollout timeline for the various components, can be found at: https://www.jointcommission.org/what-we-offer/accreditation/accreditation-360/.

About Joint Commission

Joint Commission enables and affirms the highest standards of healthcare quality and patient safety for all.  Founded in 1951, it is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare, evaluating more than 23,000 healthcare organizations and programs across the United States.  As an independent, nonprofit organization, Joint Commission inspires healthcare organizations across all settings to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value.  Learn more at www.jointcommission.org.