1. About the Publicity Guide

*Gold Seal of Approval®, the Gold Seal of Approval® logo, and the Joint Commission International name and logo are trademarks of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, registered in the United States and other countries.

The purpose of the Joint Commission International Accreditation Publicity Guide is to assist our accredited community in the use of JCI proprietary marks and to accurately and consistently identify and convey the JCI accreditation message.

This guide is intended to provide examples of appropriate use and misuse of JCI accreditation trademarks and messages. The consistent application of these guidelines will reinforce the image and credibility that JCI accreditation gives your organization, thereby increasing the value of your JCI accreditation, its purpose, and enhancing your organization’s standing as an industry leader in improving patient safety and quality.

Adherence to these guidelines is required as part of the JCI accreditation process, including, for many programs, through the Accreditation Participation Requirements (APRs). These guidelines are not all-inclusive. If you have questions regarding use of the Gold Seal of Approval®* logo, JCI accreditation messaging, or JCI standards, please contact JCI Accreditation via email.

2. Celebrating Your Accreditation

Congratulations on achieving accreditation from Joint Commission International (JCI). JCI accreditation means your organization complies with the highest international standards for safety and quality of care and is committed to continually improving patient care. Let your organization’s patients know that your organization was awarded the JCI Gold Seal of Approval™. Here are some suggestions:

· Use the Gold Seal of Approval® logo to promote your organization’s JCI accreditation. Gold Seal of Approval™ logos are available in this guide [link] as well as on the Resources tab of JCI Direct Connect. Your organization can download artwork of the Gold Seal of Approval™ logo to incorporate the Gold Seal of Approval™ logo into print, billboard, television and online advertising, and your organization’s website.

· Display any of your organization’s Certificates of Accreditation in prominent locations in your organization.

· Send a news release to the local media. See sample news releases.

· Promote your achievement through your organization's social media channels including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and include any photos or videos from celebrations of your success. Be sure to tag JCI by including "@jointcommissioninternational" (for LinkedIn and Facebook) or "@JCI_GoldSeal" (for Twitter) in your post, so JCI can share amongst its social media networks as well.

· If you are able to share your personalized content such as photos of your celebration, a quote from your leadership, etc. please send all such content to JCIaccreditation@jcrinc.com so that JCI can recognize your achievement on its social media channels.

· Conduct a news conference. Invite local reporters to meet with your organization’s CEO, medical director, quality assurance/improvement director, and other key staff members. Discuss how staff involvement is essential both to maintaining continuous standards compliance and to demonstrating that compliance during the on-site survey. Explain the focus on patient care through tracer methodology and the observation of care. Emphasize how the on-site survey is tailored to your organization’s unique characteristics, services, and patient populations.

· Demonstrate ongoing efforts to comply with JCI standards that can provide additional positive publicity. For example, invite the news media to cover emergency drills. This is a highly visible, visually appealing story that generates positive media exposure. Discuss patient tracers and the wide range of standards on which your organization was evaluated.

· Notify any local, national, or regional provider association(s) of which your organization is a member. Many of these associations publicize accreditation information in their newsletters.

· Notify the benefit manager at insurance carriers and/or health plans whose clients use or might use your organization’s services.

· Include information on the benefits of accreditation in your organization’s newsletters and in presentations to staff, board members, and community groups.

· Celebrate the accreditation award by sponsoring a "Quality Day" at your organization. Honor special staff, volunteers, or donors and offer tours of your organization’s facility.

3. Communication Guidelines for Publicizing Accreditation

The following communication guidelines have been developed to help your organization appropriately announce its accreditation by Joint Commission International (JCI). JCI requires that an accredited organization accurately describe the nature and meaning of its accreditation. Any organization that materially misleads the public about any matter relating to its accreditation may have to undertake appropriate corrective advertising or risk loss of accreditation. Adherence to these guidelines is required as part of the JCI accreditation process, including, for many programs, through the Accreditation Participation Requirements (APRs).

· If your organization has sites or offers services that are not accredited, any reference to accreditation must clearly specify which sites are accredited. Any general identification of your health system as JCI-accredited is inappropriate unless all facilities and programs identified are JCI-accredited.

· When JCI accredits an organization, JCI announces that it finds the accredited organization to demonstrate compliance with its standards and it recognizes the organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care. Achieving JCI accreditation does not mean that JCI endorses the organization’s quality of care, nor does achieving JCI accreditation prove, assure, or testify that an organization provides quality care.

· Your organization may say that its program or the organization is the “first” organization in a city or country to receive JCI accreditation. Before using this language, you must seek and receive written approval from JCI. Contact JCI Accreditation via email for approval.

· Your organization may not say the organization is the “only” organization in a city, country, region, or continent to receive accreditation. To do so may not be true and can be misleading.

· Your organization is not permitted to publicize the JCI accreditation decision until the organization is in possession of its Final Survey Findings Report from JCI Central Office. If you are unsure about the status of an accreditation decision, contact JCI Accreditation via email.

4. Guidelines for Publicizing Compliance with the International Patient Safety Goals

Your organization may state that it is in compliance with the IPSGs; however, your organization must state when compliance was validated (for example, “We were last surveyed for compliance with the International Patient Safety Goals in 2014,” or “Our compliance with the International Patient Safety Goals was validated by Joint Commission International in 2014”).

5. Sample News Releases

All sample news releases may be downloaded, edited, and published by your organization, but any edits other than city; country; date; name of organization; and your organization representative's name, title, and organization, must be approved by JCI before publication. Contact JCI Accreditation via email.

Academic Medical Center Hospital

· Ambulatory Care

· Laboratory

· Home Care

· Hospital

· Long Term Care

· Medical Transport

· Primary Care

6. Tips for Communicating Your Survey Results

When To Start Communicating your Accreditation News

Once the organization has received its Final Survey Findings Report from JCI Central Office, it may begin communicating its accreditation news to the public.

Remind your audiences that:

· Accreditation is a way of evaluating quality and safety in your organization. It is an audit of the actual delivery of critical services and patient care.

· Accreditation is a continuous process, providing insight into your organization’s daily operations and systems.

· The survey is a validation of your organization’s continuous improvement efforts.

With this process comes new measures of achievement for your organization:

· Focus on successfully achieving accreditation, which is recognized internationally as the Gold Seal of Approval® in health care.

· Focus on the fact that your organization has undergone a thorough on-site review of the quality and safety of care being provided and is committed to continuously meeting rigorous international standards. The conclusion of the on-site survey is a validation of the work to continuously comply with JCI's internationally developed standards.

· Emphasize your organization’s public commitment to continuous improvement and the delivery of safe, high quality care.

· Emphasize how ongoing compliance with JCI standards results in sound management practices in the day-to-day delivery of safe, high-quality care and give examples. In fact, the JCI survey serves as an independent audit of your organization’s commitment to continuous quality improvement.

· Share information specific to your organization about what accreditation means by detailing your organization’s full compliance with particular areas of the accreditation process, such as challenging standards, or your organization’s level of compliance with the standards.

· Emphasize your organization’s compliance with the International Patient Safety Goals. Emphasize your organization’s compliance with the International Patient Safety Goals.

· Emphasize your organization’s focus on continuous standards compliance and point out the organization’s commitment to maintaining care processes for patients that are safe and that meet high-quality standards.

· Discuss how staff involvement in the accreditation process was vital to the success of the on-site survey because tracer methodology focuses on the direct care of the patient. Discuss how staff involvement in the accreditation process was vital to the success of the on-site survey because tracer methodology focuses on the direct care of the patient.

 

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