Joint Commission journal releases special issue on health equity

The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety this month published a 50th anniversary issue on health care equity. One study focuses on the disproportionate rates of mortality and severe maternal morbidity among non-Hispanic Black patients, who comprised 43.2% of incidents reported at a large academic hospital in 2019 and 2020, despite making up 36.5% of the birthing population. The Joint Commission calls for better integration of patient safety and health equity efforts at individual hospitals to identify and alleviate disparities in maternal health outcomes, noting they may be unaware of their disparities. (Joint Commission news release, 1/4/24)