The Joint Commission

What is the Joint Commission?

The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization, established more than 50 years ago. Joint Commission is governed by a board that includes physicians, nurses, and consumers. Joint Commission sets the standards by which health care quality is measured in America and around the world.

Joint Commission evaluates the quality and safety of more than 15,000 health care organizations. To maintain and earn accreditation, organizations must have an extensive
on-site review by a team of Joint Commission health care professionals, at least once every three years. The purpose of the review is to evaluate the organization’s performance in areas that affect patient care. Accreditation may then be awarded based on how well the organizations met Joint Commission standards.

If you have a quality of care issue that has been reported to hospital management that the hospital has not addressed, you have the option to contact the Joint Commission directly. You can send a complaint by phone, mail, fax, or e-mail. When submitting a complaint, you may either provide your name and contact information or submit your complaint anonymously. Providing your contact information allows the Joint Commission to inform you of actions taken in response to your complaint.

Joint Commission policy forbids accredited organizations from taking retaliatory actions against employees for having reported quality of care concerns to the Joint Commission.

Phone:              800-994-6610
Mail:                 Office of Quality Monitoring
                        Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
                        One Renaissance Boulevard
                        Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Fax:                  Office of Quality Monitoring
                        (630) 792-5636
E-Mail: complaint@jcaho.org