Submit Your Standards Interpretation Question Online

Joint Commission International invites it accredited organizations (and those seeking their initial accreditation) to submit questions on standards interpretations through its online portal, established 1 April 2009. The portal has since been updated for better usability.
Joint Commission International (JCI) has established a Standards Interpretation Portal on its Web site (www.jointcommissioninternational.org ) to field questions related to international accreditation standards.  Currently, there are numerous available avenues for directing standards inquiries to JCI—through the JCI accreditation program or through JCI consulting, via the Web site of United States based Joint Commission, or through individual emails and phone calls to the JCI home office.  Interpretation inquiries come from many sources; JCI accredited hospitals, hospitals seeking JCI accreditation, JCI surveyors and consultants, as well as the general public.

To date, the interpretation process has not been automated, so the aggregation, analysis, and use of the data have been a cumbersome process.  The new system allows for cataloging interpretation responses to inquiries by the program and standard on which the inquiry is based. The program also provides for retrieval of information such as; which standards have the most inquiries, how a standard has been interpreted in the past, and a record of organizations and contacts that have submitted inquiries.

“Standards interpretation requests provide one source of valuable information that contributes to future standards revisions, and very frequently, to clarifications of the standards,” says Paul vanOstenberg, senior executive director, Standards, Performance Measures, and New Products for JCI. “Questions arise frequently from JCI accredited organizations, from those learning the standards for the first time and preparing for JCI accreditation, as well as from JCI surveyors and consultants who encounter new and unique ways organizations are working to comply with JCI standards. What all these sources look for is an ‘interpretation’ of the standard; what the standard means within the context of what an organization is doing or planning on doing to meet the Measurable Elements of the standard.”  Interpretation responses that represent new and important information will be provided to all JCI surveyors and consultants and posted on the JCI web site. 

The new standards interpretation process will operate as follows:
• Go to JCI’s Web site and click on the “Submit a Standards Interpretation Question” link located on the left side bar (see shaded
   arrow on Figure 1 below). 
• Provide the information requested (see Figure 2 below), ask your standards question, then click the submit button. 

You will receive an email indicating that your question has been received.  Generally questions are answered within 48 hours. 

Figure 1. JCI Web Page with Standards Questions   Link Indicated

Figure 2. JCI Standards Interpretation Web Page