Joint Commission revises certification program decisions to Certified or Not Certified

The Joint Commission June 19 announced its decision process for certification programs will now have only two outcomes: Certified or Not Certified. This change takes effect immediately.

By Healthcare Facilities Today


The Joint Commission June 19 announced its decision process for certification programs will now have only two outcomes: Certified or Not Certified. This change takes effect immediately. 

Previously, the outcomes for certification had mirrored those of the traditional accreditation decision process, and had included Certification, Certification with Follow-up Review, Contingent Certification, Preliminary Denial of Certification and Denial of Certification. 

According to the Joint Commission, the decisions are now defined as:

Certified programs meet all the requirements relevant for their particular program, and either

• Receive no Requirements for Improvement (RFIs) as a result of a review, or
• Successfully address any RFIs through an Evidence of Standards Compliance (ESC) submission involving either clarifications or evidence of corrections for the review findings.

Not Certified programs are those that

• Apply for certification and fail to meet the relevant requirements.
• Recognize during the on-site review that they will not meet the requirements and request that the review be changed to an “education visit” rather than a standards compliance evaluation.
• Received RFIs and fail to submit an acceptable ESC.

Programs that receive a Not Certified decision due to an unacceptable ESC may appeal the decision with The Joint Commission Accreditation Committee.

The Joint Commission warns that although the results of a certification program’s decision have no effect on an organization’s accreditation status, a potential Immediate Threat to Health or Safety situation discovered during a certification review may trigger a for-cause accreditation survey of the larger organization that could affect its accreditation status. 

For more information on the changes to the certification program, visit www.jointcommission.org.



June 24, 2013


Topic Area: Industry News


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