To help organizations pursuing the new Health Care Equity Certification, The Joint Commission has launched the Health Care Equity Certification Resource Center to provide practical strategies for meeting the program’s standards and elements of performance (EPs).
The new certification program, which will be available July 1, recognizes organizations working to reduce health care disparities and bridge the gap to equitable care. The certification will distinguish those organizations embedding health care equity in all aspects of care, treatment, and service delivery.
The Health Care Equity Certification Resource Center organizes resources (such as tools, templates, and guides) by certification domains and key topic areas, including:
- Leadership
- Collaboration
- Data collection
- Provision of care
- Performance improvement
While systemic inequalities exist within the quality and safety of health care, there is a path forward. The Joint Commission looks forward to working with organizations and other stakeholders to share best practices and identify innovative ways to achieve health care equity.
Access the Health Care Equity Certification Resource Center.
The Joint Commission regularly updates its Health Care Equity Accreditation Standards & Resource Center to help organizations meet its healthcare equity requirements. The resource center includes:
- Snapshots: Brief synopses of approaches used by other organizations.
- Soundbites: Brief videos of organizations’ lessons learned.
- Strategies: Links to resources such as toolkits, templates and guides.
Recently added was a gap analysis tool from the Eastern U.S. Quality Improvement Collaborative for organizations looking to identify starting points to address disparities. The template aims to help organizations assess the extent to which they have incorporated health equity best practices as part of their overall operations.
Visit the Health Care Equity Accreditation Standards & Resource Center for more resources. To continue to learn from other organizations engaged in healthcare equity work, sign up for E-Alerts to be notified when new resources are added to the resource center.
The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente have extended the deadline for accepting applications for the 2023 Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity. The new deadline is set to run through May 24 at 11:59 p.m. CT, and there is no cost to apply.
Bernard J. Tyson, the late CEO and chair of Kaiser Permanente, worked tirelessly to address the healthcare disparities that plague the U.S. healthcare system. Now in its third year, the award recognizes a healthcare organization for an intervention that led to a measurable and sustained reduction in at least one healthcare disparity.
The Tyson Award presents the opportunity for national recognition, as well as to share best practices with thousands of healthcare organizations across the country. Visit the Tyson Award webpage for more information and to apply.
The Joint Commission has revised several elements of performance (EPs) for critical access hospitals to align with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Conditions of Participation (CoPs) published in the Federal Register on Nov. 23, 2022.
The revisions primarily address the areas of restraint and seclusion, the complaint process, and unified and integrated structures for critical access hospitals that are part of a multihospital system. These changes are effective June 1, 2023, and they will be published with the August 2023 standards release.
Until the changes are incorporated into Joint Commission technology, findings related to the new and revised EPs, along with the applicable CoP requirements, will be scored at Leadership (LD) Standard LD.04.01.01, EP 2. This scoring process will continue until Aug. 27, 2023.
View the prepublication standards. The revised requirements will be published in the August 2023 E-dition® update to the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Critical Access Hospitals (CAMCAH).
For questions regarding these revisions, contact the Department of Standards and Survey Methods.
Workplace violence against staff and clients is a growing problem in healthcare.
The Joint Commission implemented new requirements for hospitals related to workplace violence in 2022 and is now considering similar requirements for its Behavioral Health Care and Human Services (BHC) Accreditation program.
The Joint Commission wants to learn more from BHC organizations about their unique experiences with workplace violence to help provide the most evidence-based and relevant requirements. The field review asks for thoughts on the potential new requirements and the larger context of how individual BHC organizations are currently experiencing, preventing, and monitoring workplace violence.
The field review will be open from May 1 to June 9 and should take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.
This feedback is essential to improving safety and quality for individuals served, visitors, and healthcare workers in the BHC setting. The Joint Commission thanks those who take time to complete the field review, as the comments received will help shape potential new workplace violence requirements.
Every year, nearly 200 content specialists and librarians select the books and manuals that make up Doody’s Core Titles® — a list that represents must-haves in the health science arena. In 2023, a total of 7 Joint Commission Resources (JCR) books/manuals made the cut.
The JCR-published works included in the 2023 Doody’s Core Titles collection are:
“Infection Prevention and Control in Nonacute Care Settings” — This first edition has the added distinction as an “essential purchase” by Doody’s, and covers The Joint Commission's infection prevention and control requirements for settings such as ambulatory care, office-based surgery, assisted living communities, home care, behavioral health care and human services, and nursing care centers. The book includes a full-text crosswalk of nonacute settings compared to hospital settings.
“The APIC/JCR Infection Prevention and Control Workbook, 4th Edition” — Published in collaboration with the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Prevention (APIC), this new edition — which also has been a Doody’s Core Title in 2021 and 2022 and further designated as an essential purchase in 2023 — features updated infection prevention and control practices and current accreditation standards. This workbook provides a wealth of tools, strategies, and updated information for infection control across the continuum of care.
“Infection Prevention and Control Issues in the Environment of Care, 4th Edition” — This latest edition — which also has been named a Doody’s Core Titles in 2020, 2021 and 2022 — is designed to help infection preventionists, other infection prevention and control practitioners, and physical environment professionals collaborate to design, improve, and manage an infection prevention and control program that will protect patients, staff, and visitors from the threat of infection. It explores the keys to maintaining a safe, infection-free environment, which includes reducing and controlling environmental hazards and risks. It also examines various infection risks that can be reduced through proper management of the physical environment. New topics include infection prevention and control and environment of care components of the compounding pharmacy, fogging for room decontamination, and establishing water management programs that are environmentally sustainable.
2023 Comprehensive Accreditation Manuals — Four of the annual standards manuals were included in the list. The selected manuals — available in hard copy, e-book format, and site licenses — are for hospitals, home care organizations, laboratories, and behavioral health care and human services organizations. The BHC manual also was listed as an essential purchase.
Learn more about these titles and others.