Updates to the Advanced Certification in Heart Failure Program
The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association have revised requirements for the Advanced Certification in Heart Failure program to align with the latest clinical practice guidelines for heart failure. The revised requirements will be effective January 1, 2024.
The Advanced Certification in Heart Failure addresses care, treatment, and services for all types of heart failure, including new onset heart failure, acute-on-chronic heart failure, and decompensated heart failure, across the continuum of care provided by a robust interdisciplinary team. The requirements for the interdisciplinary team members have been expanded to include emergency room physicians, advanced practice providers (if used by the organization), hospitalists, pharmacists, and cardiologists/heart failure specialists. The revised requirements include more specificity for developing certified organizations’ written protocols, such as utilizing the new heart failure definitions and criteria for assessing, diagnosing, classifying, and staging heart failure through the continuum of care. The revised requirements also emphasize how using a variety of assessments, such as patient-reported outcomes and assessing health-related social needs, aligns the individualized plan of care with the patient’s goals and supports healthy lifestyle changes.
Prepublication Standards:
Prepublication Standards - Effective January 1, 2024