Joint Commission offers new perinatal care certification

The Joint Commission has announced they will now offer Perinatal Care Certification. The certification program will cover labor through postpartum care in order to improve and maintain health of newborns and mothers. Organizations must be in compliance with both accreditation and certification requirements to achieve the certification and must also meet certain criteria including:

• Integrated, coordinated patient-centered care that starts with prenatal care and continues through postpartum care;
• Early identification of high-risk pregnancies and births;
• Management of mothers’ and newborns’ risks at a level corresponding to the program’s capabilities;
• For identified or unanticipated high-risk pregnancies and births or maternal, fetal and newborn problems, direct care or stabilization and safe transfer of mothers and newborns requiring care beyond the scope of services provided;
• Patient education and information about perinatal care services to meet mothers’ and newborns’ needs so mothers can make informed decisions about care; and
• Ongoing quality-improvement processes, from prenatal to postpartum care, including program-specific, quality-improvement requirements in addition to the Joint Commission’s Perinatal Care core measure set.

Joint Commission staff assembled a perinatal care technical-advisory panel of clinical experts for guidance on developing evaluation requirements. Organizations wanting to pursue certification can elect the option within the online electronic application. More information can be found on the Joint Commission website.