Joint Commission International publishes fourth edition of International Accreditation Standards for Laboratories

Joint Commission International (JCI) today published Joint Commission International Accreditation Standards for Laboratories, Fourth Edition. The manual provides requirements for laboratories outside of the United States to address continuous patient safety and quality improvement. The standards and policies in the latest will become effective on 1 January 2022.

JCI standards are the basis for the accreditation of laboratories around the world. The standards define performance expectations, structures and functions that must be in place to achieve JCI accreditation. They address accreditation participation, patient-centered care, laboratory organization management and laboratory quality control.

"JCI laboratory standards are robust and centered on patient safety and quality care," says Joel Roos, MD, MBA, MHCDS, CPE, vice president, International Accreditation, Quality Improvement and Safety, Joint Commission International. "Health care organizations will also find that our laboratory standards are consistent with ISO 15189 policies, along with additional standards that emphasize patient-centric care."

The fourth edition introduces new chapters on Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QPS) and the Prevention and Control of Infections (PCI) within the manual's section on laboratory organization management. It also expands the Quality Control Process (QCP) chapter to align with the most recent advances in laboratory medicine, including requirements for different laboratory specialties such as:

• Histopathology

• Immunohistochemistry

• Anatomic pathology

• Histocompatibility

• Molecular methods

Additionally, the updated manual includes unique and specific requirements for in vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratories and more. As part of this update, JCI aligned requirements with global laboratory-setting organizations such as the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), AABB, American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and others. 

A crosswalk to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15189: Medical Laboratories – Requirements for Quality and Competence is included in the fourth edition, as well as an introduction that serves as a user guide, summary of JCI's accreditation policies and procedures, comprehensive glossary of key terms, and detailed index.

The 4th edition manual is complimentary to current JCI-accredited laboratory customers through JCI Direct Connect and also is available for purchase.

About Joint Commission International

Joint Commission International (JCI) was established in 1994 as a division of Joint Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR), a wholly controlled, nonprofit affiliate of The Joint Commission. Through international accreditation and certification, advisory services, publications and education programs, JCI extends The Joint Commission's mission worldwide by helping improve the quality of patient care. JCI works with international health care organizations, public health agencies, health ministries and others in more than 100 countries.