APPROVED: 2013 accreditation and certification decision rules.

The Joint Commission’s Accreditation Committee approved the 2014 accreditation and certification decision rules for all accreditation and certification programs. The revised accreditation decision rules are effective for surveys as of January 1, 2014, while the revised certification decision rules are effective immediately. Revisions are shown in the boxes on pages 3–7 for accreditation programs and pages 8–9 for certification programs. New text is underlined and deleted text is shown in strikethrough. These revisions are intended to clarify existing rules, support actual practice, and provide a more accurate set of decision rules for Joint Commission customers. Specific changes to the accreditation and certification decision rules include the following: