Beginning July 1, 2011, The Joint Commission’s Advanced Certification in Heart Failure is going to incorporate new requirements for safe, successful transitions of care from the inpatient setting to outpatient settings, either a clinic or cardiology practice.
To become certified in this program, a hospital will need to have either a hospital-based and hospital-owned outpatient heart failure clinic, or a collaborative relationship with one or more attending cardiology practices.
Applications for this certification are now being accepted. The new standards are available for download below.
All organizations with existing Advanced Certification in Heart Failure will maintain that status until the next recertification is due. At that time organizations will need to meet the additional expectations to retain the Advanced Certification designation.