Resources from The Joint Commission

In May of 2020, The Joint Commission released the following statement relating to health care workforce access to mental health treatment:

"The COVID-19 pandemic is placing unprecedented strains on the health care workforce. As a result, many health care workers feel that it would be helpful to talk to a mental health professional. However, clinicians have concerns that seeing a mental health professional could adversely affect their career if they are asked about a previous history of mental health issues during the credentialing or licensing process. The Joint Commission does not require organizations to ask about a clinician’s history of mental health conditions or treatment. We strongly encourage organizations to not ask about past history of mental health conditions or treatment. As an alternative, we support the recommendations of the Federation of State Medical Boards and the American Medical Association to limit inquiries to conditions that currently impair the clinicians’ ability to perform their job. It is critical that we ensure health care workers can feel free to access mental health resources. The Joint Commission supports the removal of any barriers that inhibit clinicians and health care staff from accessing mental health care services, including eliminating policies that reinforce stigma and fear about the professional consequences of seeking mental health treatment."

• Quick Safety Issue 50: Developing Resilience to combat nurse burnout
• Quick Safety Issue 54: Promoting psychosocial well-being of health care staff during crisis

This podcast, from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (December 2022), features Haytham Kaafarani, MD, MPH, FACS, Chief Patient Safety Officer and Medical Director of Patient Safety at The Joint Commission. The podcast discusses the second victim syndrome and the importance of peer support.

Listen to Podcast

This video was developed and recorded by a Joint Commission Physician-surveyor, Dr. Andrew J. McLean, MD, MPH. It discusses ways to develop resilience at both the individual, organizational, and community level to address burnout and moral injury.

• Letter to the Finance Committee on Mental Health, May 11, 2022
• The Joint Commission Requests an Extension of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
• Comments on the CDC and NIOSH Request for Information on Interventions to Prevent Work-Related Stress and Support Health Worker Mental Health
• Letter to Senate Finance Committee on Mental Health, November 15, 2021
• Joint Commission Reiterates Importance of Removing Barriers to Mental Health Care for Staff
• Letter of Support for the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act
• Joint Statement Supporting Clinician Health in the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era
• Comments on the HHS document, “RFI – Long-Term Monitoring of Health Care System Resilience”

• Leadership Behavior Associations with Domains of Safety Culture, Engagement, and Health Care Worker Well-Being (Mar 2023)
• Safety Culture and Workforce Well-Being Associations with Positive Leadership WalkRounds (July 2021)
• Frontline Hospital Workers and the Worker Safety/Patient Safety Nexus
• Improving Patient and Worker Safety: Opportunities for Synergy, Collaboration and Innovation

• The Critical Workforce Element in Safe + Sound Workplaces
• Ambuzz: New Healthcare Worker Well-Being Resource Compendium