Entering a New Era of Joint Commission Accreditation: What Hospitals Need to Know About Accreditation 360

In June 2025, the Joint Commission (JC) announced major revisions to its accreditation standards for hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs). The move is being made to better align with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and their Conditions of Participation (CoP) compliance requirements, reducing the burden on healthcare organizations. 

While the shift takes effect January 1, 2026, hospitals and CAHs participating in the JC accreditation program should prepare now to avoid any administrative disruptions. The new rollout, “Accreditation 360: The New Standard,” not only affects the JC accreditation manual but also streamlines survey resources to get organizations and surveyors on the same page. 

For healthcare facilities managers, following regulatory compliance and JC accreditation standards relies strongly on creating efficient and well-documented processes. The new revisions will require updated documentation, procedural changes, and enhanced staff training. Read on for more specifics about the changes, how they could shape your compliance program, and what to do now to ensure readiness from day one. 

Key changes to accreditation standards 

Although the Joint Commission accreditation restructuring is extensive, no new concepts have been introduced. Specific guidelines have been consolidated and revised to clarify how the JC’s standards align with CMS federal requirements. This new approach streamlines the survey process and puts greater emphasis on continuous readiness. 

Here are key changes: 

• Simplified standards: Compliance standards have been reduced by nearly 50%, from over 1,500 to over 700. These requirements are consolidated into broader standard categories, not eliminated.
• Merging of Environment of Care (EC) and Life Safety (LS): These chapters have been restructured into one unified Physical Environment (PE) chapter.
• Realignment of Elements of Performance (EPs) to Conditions of Participation (CoPs): Each standard lists the EPs and the applicable CMS-directed CoPs from which the standard was derived, making it easier to manage.
• New National Performance Goals (NPGs): This new chapter consolidates safety and performance priorities that go above CoPs.
• Survey Process Guide (SPG): Replaces the Survey Activity Guide (SAG) and will be used by organizations and surveyors for better alignment.
• Greater transparency with the public, including searchable standards available online. 

Changes will apply across all JC-accredited programs, including critical access hospitals (CAHs), psychiatric hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, home care agencies, nursing facilities, and long-term care facilities. 

What will remain the same 

Ongoing compliance inspections, testing, reactive maintenance, preventive maintenance, system checks, and other tasks should remain constant. What will change, however, is how these tasks are documented, coded, traced, and reported based on the new accreditation standard framework. 

A reliable, data-driven CMMS plays a crucial role in managing it all, from extending asset lifecycles to simplifying compliance. A CMMS provides a single repository to efficiently track and retrieve essential documentation and minimize risks associated with missing or outdated information. 

How to prepare for Accreditation 360 

Healthcare facilities teams must perform a careful review of all revisions going into effect, compare reports, and update workflows and required documentation to meet new standards. 

• Conduct analysis between the old JC EPs and new EP standards.
• Remap work orders and other procedures to reflect new EPs.
• Update reporting systems to align with new EP standard categories and NPGs.
• Retrain employees on documentation and survey process updates. 

Conclusion 

The new Joint Commission accreditation requirements aren’t about following regulations or checking boxes. It’s about making sure hospitals and CAHs deliver the best quality and safest care. The new standards will offer meaningful benefits including fewer redundancies, reduced paperwork, and less administrative burden. Organizations participating in the JC program must map out an action plan now to tackle necessary procedural shifts. 

A tool like Compliance Pro helps you navigate complex issues effectively. Compliance Pro is a powerful module within TheWorxHub designed to seamlessly integrate compliance activities directly into hospital maintenance work orders and ensure facilities are ready for an audit at a moment’s notice. 

By digitizing critical compliance-related activities, teams can help minimize costs, streamline compliance, and reduce risk through smarter facilities and asset management.