June 28, 2023 – The Joint Commission is launching a voluntary Health Care Equity Certification Program, effective July 1. The advanced certification will recognize hospitals and critical access hospitals that strive for excellence in their efforts to provide equitable care, treatment and services.
Improving health care equity is a quality and safety priority at The Joint Commission. The Health Care Equity Certification builds on The Joint Commission’s longstanding accreditation requirements that support health care equity, as well as its new requirements to reduce health care disparities that were implemented on January 1 and are being elevated to National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) 16 on July 1.
The new certification requirements emphasize the structures and processes health care organizations need to decrease health care disparities in their patient populations; promote diversity, equity and inclusion for their staff; and address the following five domains:
- Leadership
- Collaboration
- Data collection
- Provision of care
- Performance improvement
The Health Care Equity Certification will be available to all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals, as well as non-Joint Commission-accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals that comply with applicable federal laws, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions of Participation.