Joint Commission and the American Hospital Association (AHA) have partnered to develop a new Cyber Resilience Readiness (CRR) program. This initiative aims to help hospitals and health systems maintain safe clinical operations during cyber-related technology disruptions.

In a press release on May 4, Joint Commission stated that “CRR focuses squarely on clinical continuity, ensuring that patient care can continue safely and effectively even when mission-critical technologies are unavailable.”

Created through collaboration among Joint Commission, AHA, and various healthcare organizations over 18 months, the program is intended to complement conventional cybersecurity by focusing on real-world operational readiness and patient safety, not just IT recovery.

According to the announcement, CRR draws on lessons from real ransomware and cyber incidents affecting hospitals nationwide, with the aim of helping hospitals and health systems progress from awareness to readiness, and then to resilience, enabling organizations to shift from mere assessment to practical operational improvements.

CRR offers a self-assessment tool to evaluate their current ability to maintain safe care during cyber‑related technology outages. For a fee, organizations can submit this for expert review. At this time, the expert review will include topline recommendations on how they may address any identified vulnerabilities.

Joint Commission will eventually create a new certification pathway to acknowledge organizations that demonstrate robust clinical continuity and cyber resilience abilities. 

“Digital disruption poses a direct and growing threat to patient safety and clinical care,” said Jonathan B. Perlin, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Joint Commission, in a statement. “Hospitals and healthcare organizations need practical tools to evaluate and strengthen their approach to withstanding these incidents. The new Cyber Resilience Readiness program is designed to help healthcare organizations focus on what matters most: maintaining safe, quality patient care and clinical operations at all times.”