Editor's Note
The Joint Commission announced today, April 2, significant updates taking effect immediately to the eligibility requirements for its cardiac and stroke certifications, developed in collaboration with the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Stroke Association (ASA). The key revisions involve the removal of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) volume thresholds from several cardiac certifications and a reduction in the annual aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) interventions required for stroke certification.
These decisions follow an extensive literature review conducted by The Joint Commission and the AHA/ASA to assess any potential relationship between a facility’s patient volume and its quality and safety outcomes. Through close consultation with stakeholders and organizations that The Joint Commission serves, it became clear that eliminating or adjusting these volume-based requirements would enable more facilities to achieve certification and further standardize high-quality patient care.
New criteria by certification type is as follows:
Despite these revisions, The Joint Commission will continue collecting volume data through its E-Application process to maintain insight into each program’s patient load. The official update will appear in the Comprehensive Certification Manual for Disease-Specific Care in January 2026, though again, the changes take effect immediately. The E-Application itself will be updated soon to reflect these modifications.
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