Dr. Perlin highlights Joint Commission’s 3 strategic priorities during NEJM Catalyst interview

Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, MSHA, MACP, FACMI, President and CEO of The Joint Commission, has taken a hands-on approach since joining the organization in March 2022.

Part of that includes participating in two accreditation surveys from start to finish, as he told Thomas H. Lee, MD, MSc, Editor-in-Chief, during an episode of the NEJM Catalyst podcast.

“The surveyors today are not the surveyors of yesteryear,” Dr. Perlin said during the episode. “They’re typically active professionals in the peak of their career. They’re very informed. What I appreciated most was that they balanced education and accountability.

“The most frequent phrase I heard them ask was, ‘Show me.’ ‘Show me how you’d respond to a fire. Show me how you keep sterile technique.’

“Honestly, I wish I had attended surveys start to finish when I was on the receiving side, because you see how the different standards and elements and performance come together. Particular elements may seem picky, even petty in isolation — but in the aggregate, for topic areas like infection or fire prevention, a number of these little picky points can add up to be something that’s tremendously important. It’s an incredible integrative, synthetic view.”

Dr. Perlin also talked about The Joint Commission’s three strategic priorities during the episode.

“The focus is on three things that are absolutely at the pinnacle of relevance to improved health care,” he said. “They are health equity; environmental sustainability; and workforce, both in terms of new models of care and the sustainability of the workforce itself.

“I’ve been accelerating the focus on each of these priority areas, and I’m pleased to report that we’re already making progress.”

Listen to the podcast to learn more.