Health Care Staffing Services Certification Fact Sheet
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Health Care Staffing Services Certification provides a comprehensive evaluation of a staffing firm’s ability to provide qualified and competent staffing services.
Health care staffing firms are eligible for The Joint Commission’s Health Care Staffing Services Certification if they:
- Place temporary clinical staff in other organizations that direct or provide direct patient care
- Place temporary clinical staff under the direct supervision of another organization's personnel
- Collect and present four months of data for each of the three standardized performance measures by the time of the initial certification review (see performance measurement section below)
- Place at least 10 individual clinical employees on assignments by the time of the certification review
Benefits of certification
Health care staffing firms seek certification because it:
- Demonstrates commitment to a higher standard of service
- Provides a framework for organizational structure and management
- Provides a competitive edge in the marketplace
- Enhances staff recruitment and development
- Is recognized by insurers and other third parties
- May reduce liability insurance costs
Certification process
HCSS certification reviews are unannounced and are conducted using a virtual process. Maintaining certification requires a review every other year. The review focuses on a firm’s ability to provide competent staffing services by evaluating processes for gathering and assessing credentials, performing competence evaluations, promoting continuing education and training, matching staff to appropriate assignments, and other aspects of performance. The standards, contained in the Health Care Staffing Services Certification Manual, are divided into four sections: Leadership, Human Resources Management, Performance Measurement and Improvement, and Information Management.
Performance measurement
Joint Commission-certified health care staffing firms and firms seeking initial certification are required to adopt a set of standardized performance measures:
- HCSS-4 Do Not Return – Per Diem
- HCSS-5 Do Not Return – Travel
- HCSS-6 Completeness of Personnel File – Per Diem
- HCSS-7 Completeness of Personnel File – Travel
Certified health care staffing firms collect monthly data for each measure in the set. The data is then submitted quarterly to The Joint Commission.
Information available to the public
Quality Reports for Joint Commission certified health care staffing firms are available on the Quality Check® website.
For more information