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Rural Health Clinic Accreditation

The Joint Commission’s Rural Health Clinic Accreditation Program was developed to help improve quality and safety for patients in rural communities who are seeking preventive and specialized outpatient care. As a leader in healthcare accreditation, we are dedicated to supporting rural health clinics in providing high-quality care to their communities.

Why is Rural Health Important?

Fifteen percent of Americans live in rural communities.* Aside from the distance rural Americans are from healthcare providers, many people suffer from conditions putting their health at risk, such as high blood pressure and obesity. And, rural Americans are also more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke than their urban counterparts.*

* Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Benefits of Joint Commission Accreditation

Our focus is on quality and safety. Our framework can help standardize processes, reducing variation and risk, and improve outcomes. Standardization can result in efficiencies and eliminate waste to help boost your bottom line.
  • Enhance and objectively validate your performance reliability
  • Proactively minimize risk areas for your patients, staff and brand
  • Leverage a vetted framework to grow or expand services

How We Differ

  • Exceptional support and educational resources
  • Survey that is tailor-made for your services
  • On-site delivery of accreditation report and final report issued within 10 days of survey to expedite receipt of your accreditation decision
  • Surveyor with clinical expertise in ambulatory care and critical access hospitals for a tailored assessment

Standards

Our Rural Health Clinic Accreditation Program is proudly deemed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This signifies that our program meets rigorous standards set by CMS, ensuring that accredited facilities are in compliance with federal regulations and eligible for Medicare reimbursement. By choosing The Joint Commission, you're not just meeting minimum requirements—you're demonstrating your commitment to excellence in rural healthcare

Survey Experience

Accredited organizations describe The Joint Commission’s survey process as educational and collaborative – an opportunity to enhance business practices guided by trusted industry experts. Our surveyors assess compliance to our standards in real time, guided by the client experience and our unique “tracer” method. We conclude by providing your leadership team with a thorough, objective assessment and practical strategies for ongoing performance improvement.

Tools to help you succeed:

  • Dedicated account executive to guide you through your accreditation journey
  • Standards FAQs for help with questions
  • Personalized web account to manage your application, account, and communications from The Joint Commission
  • An online publicity kit to assist with promoting your achievement, as well as listing your organization on The Joint Commission’s Find Accredited Organizations webpage
  • Checklists, webinars, seminars and much more to help you prepare for and maintain your accreditation
  • The SAFER® Dashboard, a powerful business intelligence tool that helps organizations easily access data, identify trends and compare them with multiple variables

Contact Us

Interested in becoming accredited?