The Joint Commission Changes Reviews of Hospitals

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated that healthcare organizations take a close look at their processes and goals to accommodate evolving needs and expectations in medicine. The Joint Commission, the healthcare quality and accreditation organization that formed out of the ACS’s desire to improve health outcomes in 1951, continues to evolve as it reviews its unique requirements after waiving certain standards in light of COVID-19.

In the November/December issue of the Bulletin, Lenworth M. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS, ACS representative to The Joint Commission, examines the organization’s process for updating its requirements.  As he reports, The Joint Commission will review each requirement to answer:

• Does the requirement still address an important quality and safety issue?
• Is the requirement redundant?
• Are the time and resources needed to comply with the requirement commensurate with the estimated benefit to patient care and health outcomes?

“At The Joint Commission, we are committed to working with you to help address the many challenges healthcare is facing, as well as to making our own requirements as efficient and impactful on patient safety and quality as possible,” said Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, MSHA, MACP, FACMI, president and CEO, The Joint Commission.