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Certification Fact Sheet

The Joint Commission began offering Certification programs in 2002 to evaluate clinical programs across the continuum of care. Accredited organizations may seek certification for care and services provided for virtually any chronic disease or condition. The Joint Commission also offers advanced certification options for hospitals that address important patient safety, quality, and equitable care improvements.

The Joint Commission offers a wide variety of certification or advanced certification:

  • Cardiovascular
  • Endocrine
  • Gastrointestinal
  • General Medicine
  • Hematology/Oncology
  • Neonatal/Perinatal
  • Neurological
  • Orthopedic
  • Pediatric
  • Physical Medicine/Rehabilitation
  • PulmonaryRenal
  • Wound Care
  • Sustainable Health Care
  • Health Care Equity
  • Responsible Use of Health Data

Detailed information is available on the Certification webpage.

The review process

The review and the intracycle evaluation help the program identify and correct problems and improve the quality of care and services. To become certified, an organization is evaluated during a review conducted by one or two Joint Commission reviewers, who will assess:

  • How clinical outcomes and other performance measures are used to identify opportunities to improve care.
  • Whether the organization leaders understand and commit to improving the quality of care for patients in need of the services the program provides.
  • How patients and their caregivers are educated and prepared for discharge.

Reviewers also will validate that evidence-based guidelines for clinical care are incorporated into daily clinical practices. The on-site review will include the use of the tracer methodology — the cornerstone of The Joint Commission’s on-site certification process. The objectives of the tracer methodology include:

  • Following the experience of care for patients through the program’s entire continuum of care.
  • Identifying performance issues in one or more steps of the process or in the interfaces between processes.
  • Validating compliance with the DSC standards through interviews and observations.

The tracer methodology permits reviewers to “pull the threads” if there is a reason to believe that an issue needs further exploration.

Ongoing certification requirements

Organizations that successfully demonstrate compliance with The Joint Commission’s requirements during the review are awarded certification for a two-year period. At the end of the first year, the organization is required to participate in an Intracycle Monitoring (ICM) conference call to attest to its continued compliance with the standards and to review performance improvement activities.

Certified programs are required to regularly submit data to The Joint Commission. More information about performance measures is available in the Certification Review Process Guide, available on the website.

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