Joint Commission Launches Transformative Approach to Accreditation

When Joint Commission and NQF announced our strategic affiliation, we promised to use our unique capabilities to streamline the measurement ecosystem, helping to forge multistakeholder alignment in measures and their uses to improve quality, outcomes, safety and affordability.

Last week, we took a major step forward in delivering on that promise with the launch of Accreditation 360: The New Standard—a transformational approach to hospital and healthcare accreditation and certification. Accreditation 360 modernizes our approach to how healthcare quality is recognized, building a measurement infrastructure that is dynamic, continuously improving and focused on outcomes. The goal of Accreditation 360 is to eliminate unnecessary burden by updating and simplifying processes and to empower healthcare organizations to demonstrate their commitment to excellence.

In conjunction with Accreditation 360, Joint Commission and NQF have partnered to introduce a new outcome-focused certification program. This next generation certification program being led by NQF is designed to elevate healthcare quality, performance, and affordability by integrating outcome-based performance measurement and by partnering with clinicians, health systems, specialty societies, payers, purchasers, and patients on measurement solutions that address their highest priority clinical needs.

Key features of these next-generation certifications include:

• Measure sets that are based largely on outcomes, not care processes, to better engage patients/consumers and support payer and provider goals to improve population outcomes, patient care experiences, and affordability.
• A combination of trusted, consensus-based measure sets, transparent methodology, and aligned use among payers and purchasers will reduce clinician and health system burden, reduce administrative costs, and support improved patient outcomes.
• Partnerships and technology innovations, including through responsible and novel uses of Artificial Intelligence, reduce the burden associated with clinical data reporting and support the transition from claims-based to clinically sourced measures.
• Initial focus on four high priority areas: Maternity Care, Hip and Knee Procedural Care, Spine Procedural Care, and Cardiovascular Procedural Care. These priority areas are launching in January 2026.

I encourage you to read the press release and recent article in Becker's Clinical Leadership to learn more.

Additional guidance and information, including a rollout timeline for the various components, can be found at https://www.jointcommission.org/what-we-offer/accreditation/accreditation-360/.

Thank you for your continued partnership and dedication to driving measurable health improvements.

Sincerely,

Dana Gelb Safran, ScD

President & CEO, NQF