The Joint Commission has released proposed standards for palliative care for comment. The standards are proposed as part of a new health care services certification program to continue providing improvement solutions to health care organizations.

Feedback from providers of palliative care is encouraged. 

The new certification program, scheduled to launch in August, will be available for programs that manage direct patient care services, such as ventilator care.

The program has an underlying concept of clinical microsystems— emphasizing the importance of patient-centered care. The standards evaluate how well an organization integrates this patient-centered care with service-specific concepts into their approach and delivery of services.

“The proposed standards emphasize the importance of patient-centered care and teamwork in focusing on the front line of service delivery,” says Chuck Mowll, executive vice president, business development, government and external relations, the Joint Commission. “The standards integrate the involvement of patients, families, and health care staff in treating individual needs and improving care.”

The draft of standards for palliative care and other services are available on the Joint Commission’s website.