Joint Commission Accreditation & Certification
Question: Does The Joint Commission accredit or certify background screening firms?
Response & Analysis:
No. Based upon a thorough review of The Joint Commission’s policies detailing its accreditation and certification programs and processes, and based upon conversations with staff at The Joint Commission, it is clear that The Joint Commission does not accredit or certify background screening firms.
Accreditation can be earned by entire health care organizations, such as hospitals, nursing homes, office-based surgery practices, home care providers and laboratories, while certification is earned by programs or services that may be based within or associated with a health care organization. For example, the Disease-Specific Care Certification Program is designed to evaluate clinical programs across a continuum of care and the Health Care Staffing Services Certification Program evaluates a staffing firm’s ability to provide qualified and competent staffing services for health care providers. The focus on accreditation and certification is on imposing standards on those people who deliver health care. While background screening firms such as Certiphi Screening work to safeguard and protect patients and employers by screening those applicants who ultimately provide the health care services, the intent of The Joint Commission’s accreditation and certification programs standards is to guide how care is administered and to continuously improve performance.
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving health care for the public by evaluating health care organizations and setting standards for quality and safety in the delivery of health care. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, and Joint Commission accredita¬tion and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards. To earn and maintain The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of ApprovalTM, an organization must, among other things, undergo an on-site survey at least every three years.
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