Joint Commission & Laboratory Standards

JCAHO stands for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, known commonly as the Joint Commission. It is an independent agency that certifies the performance standards of health care programs. The organization provides guidelines on laboratory standards.

Safety Goals

• The Joint Commission established a national accreditation program for laboratories. The goals focus on patient safety and are effective as of January 1, 2011. Laboratory service providers will have to use a minimum of two patient identifiers, when they provide services. In addition, providers must report critical results in a timely manner. Laboratory service providers are also responsible for reducing health risk to patients by complying with Center for Disease Control's hand hygiene guidelines.

Proficiency Testing

• The Commission requires laboratory to provide documentation attesting to enrollment in proficiency testing. The documentation must be submitted in November and December of the current year, so that verification of enrollment can be verified for the forthcoming year. The Commission requires laboratories to maintain successful performance.

Compliance

• The Commission will not provide accreditation to laboratories, when it is indicated through survey that they failed to be compliant with one or more standards. Laboratories that fail to be compliant during survey will be required to submit an acceptable Evidence of Standards Compliance Report within 45 days after findings.