Joint Commission launches outcomes-driven certifications

The Joint Commission announced it is launching outcomes-driven certifications, with the first focusing on perinatal care and cardiac surgeries and procedures. The perinatal care certification will evaluate hospital performance across key areas regarding maternal and newborn outcomes and patient care experiences. Certification covering cardiac surgeries and procedures will assess outcomes across a broad range of procedures, the Joint Commission said. It would include performance evaluation regarding the use of surgery  and procedure specific outcome measures, readmissions and patient experience data. The Joint Commission says the certifications represent a strategic shift toward data-driven, outcomes-based quality assessment instead of compliance with processes. (Joint Commission news release, 3/30/26)