Facts about Joint Commission International

Facts about Joint Commission International
Mission: To continuously improve the safety and quality of care in the international community through the
provision of education and advisory services and international accreditation and certification.
Joint Commission International (JCI) extends The Joint Commission’s mission worldwide by assisting
international health care organizations, public health agencies, health ministries and others to improve the quality
and safety of patient care in more than 90 countries. JCI was established in 1994 as a division of Joint
Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR), a private, not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.
WHO Collaborating Centre for Patient Safety and High 5s Project
In 2009, The Joint Commission and Joint Commission International were re-designated by the World Health
Organization (WHO) as the only Collaborating Centre for Patient Safety (the original designation was in 2005).
Collaborating with the WHO Patient Safety Programme, the High 5s Project focuses on the development and
evaluation of standard operating protocols (SOPs) to address common patient safety problems.
The High 5s Project was launched by WHO in 2006 to address continuing major concerns about patient safety
around the world. The High 5s name comes from the project’s original intent to significantly reduce the frequency
of five challenging patient safety problems in five countries over five years. The mission of the High 5s Project is
to facilitate implementation and evaluation of standardized patient safety protocols to achieve measurable,
significant, and sustainable reductions in challenging patient safety problems.
The countries participating in the High 5s Project are Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore,
Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States. The project has been primarily supported by the U.S. Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The major components include the development and implementation
of problem-specific SOPs; creation of a comprehensive impact evaluation strategy; collection, reporting, and
analysis of data; and the establishment of an electronic collaborative learning community.
Today, the High 5s standard operating protocols include:
• Correct site surgery
• Medication reconciliation
International accreditation and certification
JCI’s accreditation program was developed by international experts and sets uniform, achievable expectations for
structures, processes and outcomes for health care organizations. The requirements for accreditation also include
international patient safety goals that highlight problematic areas in health care and describe evidence and
expert-based consensus solutions to these problems. The survey process is designed to accommodate specific
legal, religious and cultural factors within a country. JCI offers accreditation for general hospitals and academic
medical centers, ambulatory care facilities, clinical laboratories, home care agencies, long term care
organizations, medical transport organizations, and primary care services.
JCI’s Clinical Care Program Certification (CCPC), which differs from accreditation, demonstrates excellence in
fostering better outcomes through the integration and coordination of care for treatment of a specific disease
(such as diabetes mellitus Type 2), condition (such as acute myocardial infarction), or clinical care service (such
as joint replacement). CCPC is based on a clear assessment of consensus-based standards and criteria, the
effective use of clinical guidelines, and an organized approach to performance measurement and improvement.
Benefits of JCI accreditation and certification
• Provides education on good practices to improve clinical and business processes
• Improves risk management and results in risk reduction

• Strengthens community confidence in the quality and safety of care
• On-site evaluations are conducted by highly trained clinicians and patient safety experts
• Standards are developed by health care experts from around the world
• Accreditation and certification decisions are made using published objective computer algorithms
• Advisory councils – made up of health care leaders from Europe, the Middle East, and
Asia-Pacific – provide guidance on key patient safety and quality issues
International advisory services
JCI offers a variety of advisory services to help organizations with accreditation preparation, quality improvement,
and patient safety initiatives. Consultants are health care leaders who have experience in diverse medical
cultures in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America. The services include:
• Developing a national or regional quality evaluation system
• Preparing for accreditation and certification
• Developing and improving operations, such as management, clinical and facility planning
• Measuring performance and developing an ongoing program of quality improvement
• Quality and safety improvement, including engineering safety and health design, infection control
and prevention, medication management and patient safety
Education, publications and other tools
JCI offers many resources, including international conferences and symposia on quality and patient safety issues,
audio conferences, standards manuals and other quality improvement books. In addition, JCI offers a full range of
interactive education and training programs focused on leadership, quality improvement and patient safety, as
well as JCI accreditation preparation. There are on-site or online courses, and tools such as the International Self
Assessment System.
Some of the free resources include:
• JCInsight, a quarterly, online newsletter, providing information for health care organizations on patient
safety and quality.
• The International Essentials for Quality and Patient Safety, a guide to the hospital risk points that have
the greatest impact on patient care.
• A listing of JCI accredited and certified organizations.
• Nine patient safety solutions translated into Arabic, Chinese, German and Spanish.
ISQua recognition
In September 2011, JCI received re-accreditation from the International Society for Quality in Health Care
(ISQua). Accreditation by ISQua provides assurance that the standards, training and processes used by
JCI to survey the performance of health care organizations meet the highest international benchmarks for
accrediting bodies.
For more information
For questions about accreditation services, the application process, or scheduling a survey, send an email
to jciaccreditation@jcrinc.com, or contact one of the following offices:
JCI headquarters
1515 West 22nd Street
Suite 1300W
Oakbrook, Illinois 60523, USA
Accreditation: +1-630-268-4800
Consulting: +1-630-268-2900
Middle East
P.O. Box 505018
Bldg. 27, Suite B503
Dubai Healthcare City
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
+971-4369-4930
Asia-Pacific
37th Floor
Singapore Land Tower
50 Raffles Place
Singapore 048623
+65-6829-7208
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