Joint Commission Announces New Perinatal Care Performance Measure

Effective Jan. 1, The Joint Commission will require accredited hospitals with at least 300 live births per year to report the percentage of infants with unexpected newborn complications among full-term newborns with no pre-existing conditions, the organization announced yesterday. All hospitals seeking perinatal care certification also will be required to report on the measure. A Joint Commission working group also is considering whether to establish possible requirements for hospitals to standardize management of patients with hemorrhage or hypertension, the organization said.