Publications FAQs
A Comprehensive Accreditation Manual generally comes in a binder and contains everything related to the accreditation process of that particular program. A standards book is a softcover, abridged version of the comprehensive accreditation manual; it contains all the standards, rationales, elements of performance, and scoring, but does not include all the support chapters, appendixes, and other ancillary materials.
Although all accredited and certified organizations have complimentary access to the E-dition on their Joint Commission Connect™ extranet site, most accreditation programs have at least one print manual available for purchase to support customers’ in their quality and patient safety journey. Due to popular demand from customers in its most populous programs, abridged manuals, and update services are also offered for purchase in a select group of programs — Hospitals, Ambulatory Care, and Behavioral Health Care.
No. The updates are simply replacement pages that are meant to be inserted in the corresponding comprehensive accreditation manual. They do not stand alone.
Here are some guidelines that may assist you in your decision:
Ambulatory Care (Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Ambulatory Care):
Surgery centers, community health centers, group practices, imaging centers, sleep labs, rehabilitation centers, telehealth providers, student health centers, urgent care clinics, and other ambulatory providers.
Behavioral Health Care (Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Behavioral Health Care):
Organizations that provide mental health services, substance use treatment services, foster care services, programs or services for children and youth, child welfare, services for individuals with eating disorders, services for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities of various ages and in various organized service or program settings, case management services, peer-based recovery services, prevention and wellness promotion services, corrections-based services, and opioid treatment programs.
Critical Access Hospital (Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Critical Access Hospitals):
A hospital that offers limited services and is located more than 35 miles from a hospital or another critical access hospital, or is certified by the state as being a necessary provider of health care services to residents in the area. It maintains no more than 25 beds that could be used for inpatient care. A critical access hospital provides acute inpatient care for a period that does not exceed, on an annual average basis, 96 hours per patient. A critical access hospital can also have a psychiatric and/or rehabilitation distinct part unit; each unit can have up to 10 beds.
Home Care (Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Home Care):
Organizations that provide home health services, personal care and support services, pharmacy services including infusion services and/or mail order and specialty pharmacies, long term care pharmacies and freestanding infusion centers, durable medical equipment services, and hospice services.
Hospital (Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals):
General, acute psychiatric, pediatric, medical/surgical specialty, long term acute care, and rehabilitation hospitals.
Laboratory Services (Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Laboratory and Point-of-Care Testing):
Clinical laboratories, point-of-care testing, assisted reproductive technology labs, and reference labs.
Nursing Care Centers (Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Nursing Care Centers):
Organizations that provide specialized services to patients or residents, which may include rehabilitative care, dementia-specific memory care, and long-term nursing care.
An accredited organization is allowed to copy the manual 10 times with permission. Exceeding JCR’s stated copyright infringement parameters — based on the limitations found in sections 107 through 118 of the United States Copyright Act, including the “fair use” limitation — is a violation that JCR takes seriously. The best way to make certain that you don’t violate JCR’s copyright protection is to request permission directly by emailing the below mailbox.
Orders from the U.S. and all other countries will be charged for shipping/handling based on the total value of the titles being ordered. Shipping and handling charges apply to products being shipped to one location only. Orders shipping to multiple locations will incur a shipping and handling charge for each destination.
Orders are shipped by United Parcel Service (UPS). Allow five to seven business days for delivery within the U.S. after your order is received and seven to 10 business days for delivery outside the U.S. (provided that the products you ordered are currently in stock). Your complete street address (NOT P.O. Box) is necessary for all shipments. Your telephone number is also required for UPS shipments.
Customers in the U.S. who require expedited shipments should call the Customer Service Center at 877.223.6866, option 1, prior to noon Eastern Time.