What Is the Healthcare Joint Commission?

The Joint Commission is the oldest and largest organization dedicated to accrediting health care organizations. The Joint Commission is an independent, non-profit organization that evaluates and accredits more than 17,000 health care organizations and programs in the U.S.

Leadership

• Twenty-nine commissioners govern the Joint Commission; these commissioners are doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, quality improvement experts, medical ethicists, representatives of large employer groups, a consumer advocate, a labor union representative, health educators and health insurance company representatives. The Joint Commission also receives advice from five major medical associations.

Accreditation Services

• The Joint Commission evaluates a wide variety of hospitals, clinics and medical centers. In addition to accrediting hospitals, group practices and surgical centers, the Joint Commission also reviews nursing homes, behavioral health organizations, addiction centers and independent lab facilities.

Certification Services

• The Joint Commission offers certification to organizations that offer disease-specific treatments. For example, hospitals with advanced care centers for heart failure, kidney disease or stroke can request a special evaluation and certification in the advanced level of care that they offer.

Standards and Performance

• The Joint Commission works with organizations to track their performance and help them continuously improve. For example, the Joint Commission encourages methods for hospitals to reduce surgical infection rates or to improve how the hospital tracks infections. It also reviews an organization's staff education efforts to improve performance across all clinical disciplines.

Education and Information

• The Joint Commission functions as an educator about the issue of patient safety and health care quality. Educational conferences, newsletters, books, reports and e-learning activities offer patients, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, health plan executives and others to learn more about how to improve patient quality.