Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Certification

The Joint Commission's Management of the Patient with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Certification Program was developed through a collaborative partnership with the American Lung Association.  The Joint Commission, the American Lung Association, a task force representing professional organizations and other stakeholders have identified that the most successful COPD programs possess the following attributes:

• Staff education requirements
• The use of spirometry
• Smoking cessation
• Risk factor reduction
• Patient education on self-management of COPD
• Coordination of care

The COPD specific requirements for this program were developed using the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of  Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (2006)  and the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society Standards for the Diagnosis and Management of Patients with COPD (updated 2005)  as resources.

The Joint Commission's Certificate of Distinction for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary  Disease recognizes organizations that make exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for COPD patients.   

Achievement of certification signifies that the services you provide have the critical elements to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes.  It is the best signal to your community that the quality of care you provide is effectively managed to meet the unique and specialized needs of COPD patients.  In fact, demonstrating compliance with these national standards and performance measurement expectations may help obtain contracts from employers and purchasers concerned with controlling costs and improving productivity.  

Eligibility

Outpatient and ambulatory care settings (including those that are part of hospital settings) that provide care and services to patients who have COPD. 

Additional Links

• American Lung Association
  http://www.lungusa.org

Resources

• Publicity Kit for Certified Organizations
  

• For further information on the Joint Commission COPD Certification Program, click here or please call (630) 792-5291.

Requirements

1. Standards: Programs applying for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Certification will be evaluated using the standards in the Disease-Specific Care Certification Manual.    Click here to view requirements *
2. Clinical Practice Guidelines:  The program must demonstrate conformity with clinical practice guidelines or evidence-based practice that includes the COPD specific requirements that are integrated with the Disease-Specific Care standards.
3. Performance Measures: All certified COPD programs will be required to comply with the Phase I requirements for performance measurement until standardized performance measures have been identified.

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