Medical Staff Alert: The Joint Commission releases 2009 standards

On July 1, The Joint Commission published its revised standards, rationales, and elements of performance for 2009 online.

Although no new standards have been added, The Joint Commission designed chapter overviews, standards, introductions, rationales, and elements of performance to make them easier to use. Some requirements have been split or consolidated, and standards have been renumbered to allow online sorting and to accommodate future requirements. These revised standards will take effect on January 1, 2009.

To make the standards even easier to use, The Joint Commission has developed an online history tracking report to help organizations see how each standard changed and keep track of each standards' new number.

These changes are part of the Joint Commission’s Standards Improvement Initiative (SII), which was launched in 2006. SSI aims to clarify standards' language, ensure that standards are specific to programs, delete redundant and non-essential standards, and consolidate similar standards. The first phase one of SSI focused on accreditation programs for hospitals, critical access hospitals, ambulatory care, office-based surgery, and home care organizations, while the second phase focuses on behavioral health, laboratory, and long-term care accreditations and will take effect in January 2010.

For more on The Joint Commission’s 2009 standards, visit http://www.jointcommission.org/Standards/SII/default.htm