Overview
The Joint Commission
• Joint Commission Standards
Purpose: These standards are designed to help healthcare organizations assess and improve performance, focusing on crucial aspects of patient care and organizational functions.
Content: They encompass a wide range of care delivery processes, ensuring comprehensive reviews of patient care experiences.
Application: Used across various healthcare settings, they address complex issues and identify vulnerabilities in patient care.
Availability: The standards are available in both print and electronic formats and can be purchased from Joint Commission Resources®.
• National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG)
Purpose: NPSGs are specific goals aimed at improving patient safety.
Content: They address critical safety issues in healthcare settings, often focusing on problems such as medication errors, patient identification, and infection prevention.
Updates: The NPSGs are updated annually to reflect the evolving challenges in patient safety.
• Field Reviews
Process: Field reviews are part of the ongoing updates to the Joint Commission standards, where healthcare professionals contribute to the development of new or revised standards.
Participation: Professionals from various healthcare settings can provide input and comments on proposed requirements.
• Prepublication Standards
Purpose: These standards are issued to communicate upcoming changes to the existing standards and Elements of Performance (EPs).
Format: They are published before being included in the official E-dition and comprehensive manuals.
• Standards FAQs
Function: This section addresses frequently asked questions regarding the Joint Commission standards, offering clarifications and interpretations.
Utility: It’s a valuable resource for healthcare organizations seeking to understand and implement the standards correctly.
• Universal Protocol
Objective: The Universal Protocol is part of the National Patient Safety Goals, focusing on preventing wrong site, wrong procedure, and wrong person surgery.
Content: It includes guidelines and checklists to ensure correct patient identity, the correct site, and the correct procedure before surgery.
• Requirements
Description: This is a free listing of all policy revisions to standards published in the Joint Commission Perspectives.
Relevance: It's essential for keeping up-to-date with the latest changes in standards since the last issuance of the accreditation/certification manual.