Joint Commission Partners With STS and ACC in New Cardiac Care Certification

January 30, 2026—Joint Commission announced it has partnered with the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) to leverage clinical performance data for a new cardiac care certification.

According to Joint Commission, the cardiac certification integrates outcomes-driven performance measurement and partnering with clinicians, health systems, patients, specialty societies, payers, and purchasers on measurement solutions. Joint Commission stated it will begin engaging with organizations interested in the new cardiac certification in the first quarter of 2026.

Joint Commission stated that organizations seeking this upcoming cardiac certification will use the same data that they submit to the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD) and the ACC CathPCI Registry, and the joint STS/ACC TVT Registry if they perform transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedures. In doing so, hospitals and other health care organizations will be able to link certification directly to real-world clinical performance.

As noted in the press release, Joint Commission first previewed its next-generation of certification programs in June 2025 in conjunction with the announcement of its Accreditation 360 initiative.

“At a time of both rapid advancement in medicine and increasing complexity in health care, we must ensure that patients not only have access to quality care, but also that they can have confidence in the care they are getting,” commented Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, President and CEO of Joint Commission, in the press release. “At the same time, it is critical to ease the burden on busy clinicians and health care organizations, so they can focus on delivering great care. By harnessing registries from trusted specialty societies like STS and ACC, we can do both. This new certification along with Joint Commission’s other next generation-certification programs shift the focus from primarily observation of structure and process toward outcome measures.”