As the webmaster for The Joint Commission’s website, creating a positive user experience is my number one goal.  Listening to our customers is the best way to improve the website.  Every year, we conduct a website user survey to find out what’s working and what can be improved.  Take our 2013 survey.

In addition to the survey, we conduct one-on-one usability testing, phone surveys and webinars, and you can send an e-mail to webmaster@jointcommission.org at any time with ideas and suggestions.  I read them all.

Managing a website with as much content and as diverse an audience as The Joint Commission’s can be a challenge.  Keeping up with ever-evolving web technology and trends presents another challenge.  That’s where you, the user of our website, come in; we need your input to help guide and shape the design, look and feel of the website.

Thanks in advance for completing this year’s short survey.  We appreciate your taking the time to help us continually improve the site!
 

We live in a continually evolving social world.  The ability to easily and quickly share information with friends and colleagues can open so many new doors.

To quote, Joseph Badaracco, professor of business ethics at Harvard Business School, “In today's environment, hoarding knowledge ultimately erodes your power. If you know something very important, the way to get power is by actually sharing it.”

To this end, we’ve added a new share feature on The Joint Commission website. This way, you can easily share important updates about accreditation or certification, patient safety and quality.

Look for this social share feature on many of the website pages to share content such as Sentinel Event Alerts, Standards FAQS, newsletters, blogs and more. (Note:  See the right hand margin of this web page for the sharing tool.)

So go ahead and share the knowledge and watch your power grow!
 

Our experts are talking… or BLOGGING that is! NOW – get any or all our blogs e-alerted right to your inbox!

What do I have to do?

If you are already signed up for our website e-alerts, just go to our sign-up page and enter the e-mail address you used to be notified.  The sign-up page will populate with all the information you previously selected.  Then, check off the boxes next to the blogs for which you want to receive e-mail notification.  If you want to be alerted about all of our blogs, simply check the “All” box next to the blog category.

If you have not yet signed up for website e-alerts, you can sign up here.  We currently have nine blogs on the website with more to come, so be sure to check back regularly.  Our blogs include:

• @ Home with The Joint Commission
• Joint Commission Webmaster's Blog
• Ambulatory Buzz
• Lab Accreditation
• BHC Update
• Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Update
• Chat. Blog. Post. Share. Let’s talk ambulatory with Michael!
• The View From The Joint Commission
• DSC Update

Stay informed about what is going on at The Joint Commission from the experts themselves, when you sign up for our blog e-alerts today!

In today’s world of instant communication, we are all on information overload.  Managing this information can be a full time job.  One of the questions I’m often asked is how can I keep up with what’s new on The Joint Commission website? 

Here are four good ways to stay on top of news and information:

1. Keep an eye on the rotating items on the home page.  Hot topics are often posted on the home page for a week or two.
    
2. Check out the “Daily Update” page.  This tool lists any content or page that is updated on the website.  You can also use the filters to find content by time period, i.e., this week or this month,  keywords, type of content, and accreditation or certification program.
    
3. Sign up for E-Alerts.  The E-Alerts are great way to get updated content delivered right to your e-mail box.  You can determine the type of content you want to receive and how often you want to receive it, daily or weekly.
    
4. Follow us on social media.  Let’s face it; social media is here to stay.  When important news or information is released, you can learn about it easily and quickly from our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ or Pinterest sites.
    

I hope these ideas help you keep up and manage your workload!  As always I appreciate your comments and feedback on the website.
 

Did you know that the Joint Commission website includes several portals on important health care topics?

Here are three of the portals.

1. High Reliability Resource Center – This portal includes a variety of article, videos and case studies about high reliability in health care.  The information provided looks at improving quality in health care by achieving consistent excellence over long periods of time.
    
2. Health Care-Associated Infections (HAI) – This portal pulls together information from throughout The Joint Commission enterprise including Joint Commission Resources and the Center for Transforming Healthcare.  The HAI content is organized in three ways;
   • HAI Topics
   • Infection Prevention and Control
   • Accreditation program setting (U.S. Only)
3. Transitions of Care (TOC) – This portal also provides TOC information from across The Joint Commission enterprise.  In addition, several articles and links to other websites related to TOC are included on this portal.

We hope you find these portals helpful and easy to access.  Let us know if you have questions about the portals.