Joint Commission launches outcome-driven certifications on perinatal care, cardiac procedures

The Joint Commission March 30 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.