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Article Date: 04/25/2008

Countdown to 2009: Free electronic manual
On January 1, 2009, several positive changes will take effect for accredited organizations. Some changes are a result of the Standards Improvement Initiative (SII) and others are due to ongoing improvements to the accreditation process. This section highlights these changes, why they are being made, and how they will impact accredited organizations.

The 2009 program manuals will be available electronically as “E-ditions” beginning in November 2008. Along with the customary free copy of the comprehensive print manual, organizations will receive a free E-dition (i.e., single user license). The free single-user license E-dition can be upgraded to a site license (unlimited concurrent users per site) for a fee. E-ditions will be accessible via the Internet with login and password. More information about the E-ditions, including how organizations will receive them, will be available in September. In response to field demand, key E-dition features include:
-Easy navigation to the standards. Three ‘clicks’ to reach any standard with its full description, rationale, and elements of performance with scoring criteria.
-Easy navigation to historical crosswalks. Links between the 2008 and 2009 standards to ease the transition to reorganization and renumbering of the standards.*
-Keyword search capability across one or more manuals.
-Applicability filters to show only those standards that apply to a particular health care setting (e.g., ambulatory care organizations offering diagnostic/therapeutic imaging).*

* For Phase 2 programs (behavioral health, laboratory, long term care) these features will be available in the 2010 E-ditions.

In July, prior to the launch of the E-ditions, The Joint Commission website will provide the 2009 standards in PDF (portable document format) for the ambulatory, critical access hospital, home care, hospital, and office-based surgery programs. An extensive, historical crosswalk in PDF will also be posted with the standards to help with the transition to the new numbering system. These PDFs will be available on the website until the print manuals are published in September 2008. As a reminder, SII is limited to changes of current standards; it is not designed to introduce new requirements. The changes include clarifications to the language, deletions of duplicative information, reorganization and renumbering.

Website Address: http://www.jointcommission.org/Library/ThisMonth/tm_4_08.htm

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