JCAHO plans familiar name change

Briefings on JCAHO, December 15, 2006

Beginning in January, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations--for decades commonly referred to as “The Joint Commission”--plans to change its name to “The Joint Commission.”

A December 11 memo from JCAHO President Dennis O’Leary, MD, to all JCAHO employees reveals the name change plans. “This change is simply intended make our name more memorable than the current 18-syllable Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations,” reads O’Leary’s memo, which was obtained by Briefings on JCAHO, a newsletter published by HCPro Inc., which also publishes HealthLeaders.

“The shortened name signals and acknowledges the reality of progressive broadening of Joint Commission services and products in order to fulfill our mission,” O’Leary continues in the memo. “We have lived this reality over the past two decades, and we will likely live it to an ever greater degree in the future.”

Along with the name change comes new logos for the Joint Commission and its publishing and consulting company, Joint Commission Resources Inc., and also for its Joint Commission International division and its International Center for Patient Safety.

The changes take effect January 8, coinciding with the JCAHO’s annual surveyor conference and training in Chicago where the organization is headquartered.

The JCAHO communications office did not respond yesterday to inquiries made about the name change. Previously, the JCAHO said it hired a company to develop a brand strategy and a name change was one of the company’s recommendations.

Amy Anthony is the editor of Briefings on JCAHO. She may be reached at aanthony@hcpro.com. This story first appeared in a breaking news edition of Briefings on JCAHO, a monthly newsletter by HCPro Inc. For information on all of HCPro’s products, visit www.hcmarketplace.com