Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care

Compared to other developed countries where maternal mortality rates in recent years ranged from fewer than two deaths per 100,000 live births (in Norway and New Zealand) to just below nine deaths per 100,000 live births (in France and Canada), rates in the U.S. are much higher.

A new report from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, found that the number of maternal deaths rose 14 percent, to 861/100,100 live births in 2020 from 754/100,000 live births in 2019. The increase in deaths pushes the nation’s maternal mortality rate to 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020 from 20.1 deaths in 2019.

The Joint Commission's new Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care (ACPC) provides a framework to help organizations drive improvements in clinical outcomes. ACPC requires organizations to utilize evidence-based literature to develop policies and procedures for the care the program provides across the perinatal continuum.

ACPC addresses a growing need for appropriate obstetric care helping ensure there is a multidisciplinary approach taken when developing a patient-centered plan of care utilizing evidence-based assessment tools. Top 3 reasons to achieve ACPC:

• Improve efficiencies and outcomes at a potential lower cost
• Reduce unwanted variations in care and improve the patient experience
• Align communication and collaboration among all disciplines

ACPC is for hospitals that have the capability to provide labor and delivery services focusing on all care including both complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies, and that:

• Are located in the United States, or operated by the U.S. government or under a charter of the U.S. Congress
• Use a standardized method of delivering clinical care based on clinical practice guidelines and/or evidence-based practice
• Use performance measurement to improve performance over time

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The Joint Commission will offer this certification in collaboration with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).