to main content Our Priorities | The Joint Commission
At The Joint Commission, we are committed to operating every part of our business in ways that are responsible and sustainable, while continuing to advance progress across the industry’s most pressing quality and safety challenges. Our guiding principle is to work with health care providers to translate intent into action, realizing a more promising tomorrow, together.

The COVID-19 pandemic compounded the global shortage of healthcare workers and the challenges they face — including accelerated rates of burnout, mental health crises, and violence in the workplace. As shortages of healthcare workers continue, putting strain on these professionals, quality and safety risks often rise, resulting in worse outcomes for patients.

To address the factors that contribute to burnout, The Joint Commission is reviewing our “above and beyond” standards that go beyond CMS’ Conditions of Participation (CoPs) and are not on crosswalks to the CoPs. The ultimate outcome is to eliminate standards and elements of performance that don't add commensurate value to care providers.

Additionally, we've curated a collection of resources on the topics of workplace violence prevention, worker well-being, and worker safety. Our ultimate goal is to equip healthcare leaders and staff with the tools, strategies, and best practices they need to safeguard the health and well-being of their teams, empowering them to deliver consistently excellent care.

Infection Prevention and Control & Antibiotic Stewardship

Preventing infections and managing antibiotic use are crucial to providing high quality healthcare. Infections acquired in healthcare organizations endanger patient safety, resulting in longer hospital stays, higher medical costs, and increased mortality. By adopting effective infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship practices, organizations can limit the spread of infections in their environment and contribute to the global fight against antibiotic resistance.