Effective June 2, 2025, laboratories will be eligible for advance notification of scheduled survey events. This change represents the Joint Commission’s continued commitment to taking action in response to feedback from accredited organizations, including program improvements aimed at reducing burden. It also aligns with survey guidance issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for laboratories seeking to enroll or maintain enrollment in the Medicare program.
Advance notification will be made up to 14 calendar days before the scheduled laboratory survey activity. The following events are excluded from advance notification:
- Complaint surveys
- Follow-up surveys due to previously identified noncompliance
- Laboratory surveys occurring simultaneously with another accreditation program’s unannounced survey activity (for example, hospital surveys)
An e-mail with details about the survey event, including the scheduled surveyor(s), will be sent to the organization’s CEO and primary lab contact via its secure Joint Commission Connect® extranet site. These details can also be found in the “Event Notification” section of Joint Commission Connect.
Please contact your organization’s Joint Commission laboratory account executive with questions.
In time for Mental Health Awareness Month, The Joint Commission has launched a new Suicide Risk Reduction Resource Center. The center offers collections of curated resources with actionable strategies and tools to support organizational efforts in complying with The Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal of reducing the risk of suicide.
Suicide is a major public health problem that can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or background. This resource center is designed to help organizations ensure safe and quality care for individuals at risk of suicide, both during their time in a healthcare facility and at discharge.
The resource center includes:
- Links to resources such as learning modules, toolkits and guides
- Answers to frequently asked questions
Users can sign up for E-Alerts to be notified when resources are added.
The second edition of Health Care Worker Safety Checklists is now available. This bestselling book provides an updated collection of checklists to keep healthcare workers safe. Checklist topics include:
- Chemical and physical hazards
- Infectious agents
- Workplace violence
- Ergonomic problems
- Work-related stress
The checklists are built on authoritative guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the World Health Organization, and others. Most of the checklists are designed for use by healthcare workers themselves; others are intended for healthcare leaders to ensure that policies, procedures, engineering controls and resources are in place to foster healthcare worker safety in all areas of an organization.