The Joint Commission has created a Comprehensive Cardiac Center (CCC) certification for hospitals that comply with standards, integrate evidence-based guidelines and achieve and/or maintain disease-specific care requirements.

The Joint Commission announced the certification program in a news release on Jan. 10.

The non-profit organization accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the U.S. in numerous specialties such as cardiology, behavioral health, oncology, neurology and rheumatology.

“The new certification program encourages hospitals to deliver integrated, coordinated and patient-centered cardiac care and communications to support transitions from the Emergency Department to diagnosis, treatment and follow-up through outpatient care services,” Patrick Phelan, interim executive director of hospital business development at the Joint Commission, said in a news release. “Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification evaluates these transitions, as well as focuses on key processes to assist hospitals with reducing unwanted variations in how cardiac care is delivered to lower costs and improve patient outcomes.”

For cardiology, The Joint Commission offers certifications in abdominal aortic aneurysm, acute coronary syndrome, acute MI, aortic aneurysm, atrial fibrillation, cardiac valve repair and replacement, carotid stenosis, chest pain, CABG, coronary artery disease, heart failure, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, PCI and peripheral vascular disease. It also has advanced certification for heart failure and ventricular assist devices.

To qualify for the CCC certification, hospitals must manage ischemic heart disease, PCI, CABG, cardiac valve disease, arrhythmias, advanced heart failure and cardiac arrest. They also are required to offer cardiac rehabilitation for patients onsite or by referral, have cardiovascular risk factor identification and cardiac disease prevention and participate in a nationally audited registry or other data collection tool to monitor data and measure outcomes. In addition, they must have at least 10 patients at the cardiac center when the Joint Commission reviews the hospital.

“The Comprehensive Cardiac Center program is designed to help Joint Commission–accredited hospitals establish the structures, processes, and culture that can lead to sustained levels of effective clinical performance and patient outcomes across cardiac specialties and the care continuum,” the organization said in a description of the program. “The optional certification program will help organizations demonstrate excellence in delivering comprehensive cardiac care through compliance with consensus-based standards, effective integration of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, an organized approach to performance measurement and improvement, and achievement and/or maintenance of required Advanced Disease-Specific Care certification requirements.”