Eligibility for Ambulatory Care Accreditation

In order for an organization to be accredited under our Ambulatory program, the following requirements determine eligibility.

Any health care organization may request Joint Commission accreditation if the following eligibility requirements are met:

The Joint Commission has applicable standards for services provided by the organization;
The organization is freestanding – not hospital owned or operated; note, hospital-operated ambulatory centers can voluntarily choose Ambulatory Health Care Accreditation program as alternative to Hospital Accreditation covering ambulatory services.
Care is not provided on an inpatient basis – the length of care does not exceed 24 hours;
The organization has a process for assessing the quality of its services that involves a review of care by clinicians who may be integral to or separate from the organization;
The organization is located within the United States or its territories or, if outside the United States, is operated by the United States government or under a charter of the United States Congress or meets criteria for foreign organization’s eligibility; and
When requesting a survey, the organization identifies all services that it provides and advises the Joint Commission as to whether each of these services are provided directly, under contract, or through some other arrangement.