Joint Commission gives rationale behind new eating disorder standards

It’s been eight months since The Joint Commission’s new eating disorder standards for Behavioral Healthcare Accreditation went into effect. This week, the accreditor released a new R3 Report detailing the methodology and sources behind the standards. The report lists the experts, stakeholders, and customers who help vet the standards.

“Individuals with eating disorders can be very fragile, and eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any behavioral health disorder. This makes it very important that these programs provide the safest, highest quality care possible,” said David W. Baker, MD, MPH, FACP, executive vice president, Division of Health Care Quality Evaluation, The Joint Commission. “With the new standards and the deeper knowledge provided in this report, we aim to provide Joint Commission-accredited organizations with the tools they need to improve care and treatment for these individuals.”

The resources were based in part on guidelines from the American Psychiatric Association and published research from the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Click here to read the R3 Report in full.