ORYX requirements are posted on the external Joint Commission website under both “Accreditation” and “Knowledge Library”. Use the information (updated annually for the following calendar year - typically by mid-October) to determine the calendar year requirements & available measures are for your organization type, and/or review the list of organization types exempt from ORYX Requirements.

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Joint Commission’s ORYX initiative integrates performance measurement data into the accreditation process.  ORYX measurement requirements support Joint Commission accredited organizations in their quality improvement efforts.

Joint Commission is more than just an accrediting body. We are actively engaged in helping organizations improve their patient safety and quality of care. As it relates to Performance Improvement, these quality and safety efforts are demonstrated by documenting elements of patient encounters, e.g.

Organizations document all aspects of the care provided by collecting data from those encounters.

Performance Measurement data is submitted to Joint Commission by all organizations with ORYX performance measurement requirements. The data is analyzed by statisticians at Joint Commission and feedback is provided to facilities via Accelerate PI Dashboards within their Joint Commission Connect site.

For the organization, this information shows trends in the care provided on measures over time, as well as how the organization is performing compared to others. By providing feedback, organizations can identify opportunities to improve patient safety and quality of care.

For Joint Commission, this information is used to generate national benchmarks and identify opportunities for improvement in clinical topic areas. In addition, this information is available to surveyors, so they may discuss Performance Improvement efforts your organization may enact as a result of seeing trends or spikes in patient quality of care and outcomes.

Organizations begin collecting ORYX Performance Measurement data the first calendar quarter following the receipt of their accreditation decision letter:

If the letter is received between 10/1 and 12/31, begin collecting 1Q data effective 1/1 patient discharges
If the letter is received between 1/1 and 3/31, begin collecting 2Q data effective 4/1 patient discharges
If the letter is received between 4/1 and 6/30, begin collecting 3Q data effective 7/1 patient discharges
If the letter is received between 7/1 and 9/30, begin collecting 4Q data effective 10/1 patient discharges

Note: Organizations are encouraged to keep up to date on any changes in the ORYX requirements by reviewing recent issues of the Joint Commission official newsletter, currently called “Joint Commission News” within the Knowledge Library on our external website, or by navigating to the ORYX requirements and Key Communications topics - which redirect to this Confluence site.

As a condition of participation (APR.04.01.01) organizations collect performance measures to meet specified ORYX measure reporting requirements for accreditation. Joint Commission’s ORYX initiative integrates performance measurement data into the accreditation process. ORYX measurement requirements support Joint Commission-accredited organizations in their quality improvement efforts.

The Health Care Organization Identification number (HCO ID #) is not the same as CMS’ CCN. The HCO ID # is a unique number assigned by Joint Commission. The Joint Commission’s HCO ID # can most easily be found when logged into your organization’s Joint Commission Connect Extranet site, shown in the upper right-hand corner, under the facility name and address.

Joint Commission and CMS are separate entities with separate program requirements. The data is used for different purposes. There are no systems or infrastructure in place to share data between the two entities. Submission of performance measurement data to one does not meet the requirements of the other.

Joint Commission is aligned with CMS on several reporting requirements and measures. Refer to the list of available / applicable Joint Commission measures, provided within the respective year’s ORYX Performance Measurement Requirements: https://jointcommission-ddsp.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DCS/pages/403472385

NOTE: Joint Commission aligns with CMS, however there are times when goals or program needs differ between the two entities and this necessitates variation.

Joint Commission and CMS are separate entities. If you are not able to submit all/part of your measure requirements to Joint Commission, you must also request an exception from us. See the “Extenuating Circumstances” topic of the FAQs for information on how to access the Extenuating Circumstance Request (ECR) form.  (NOTE: be certain to adhere to the documented timeline related to ECR requests)

Organizations who believe they have an extenuating circumstance that would impact eCQM and/or chart-abstracted data for accreditation purposes should submit an Extenuating Circumstance Request (ECR) form. Refer to the “Extenuating Circumstances” topic of the FAQs for information on how to access the ECR form.

There are a few possible reasons why you may not receive ORYX email notifications:

1. ORYX email notifications are sent to the individuals documented within your organization’s Joint Commission Connect site. Notifications are primarily sent to the listed ORYX Contact, with additional notifications going to the Primary Accreditation Contact. If you are not listed as either the ORYX Contact or the Primary Accreditation Contact for your facility, please contact one of your organization’s Joint Commission Connect Site Administrators, as they are the only one with the authority to modify or add to your organization’s list of contacts. Site Administrators are denoted with a small “key” next to their name in Joint Commission Connect. If you do not have access to Joint Commission Connect, contact your Quality Director.

2. If you are a listed contact (i.e., ORYX or Primary Accreditation Contact), check to see if you have opted out of receiving emails from Joint Commission. You may have opted out in one of two ways, either by checking the opt-out box on the “Security Admin” page on Joint Commission Connect and/or you have clicked the ‘One Click Unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of an email sent by Joint Commission. Users that have Unsubscribed from receiving e-mails and want to opt back in, should contact hcooryx@jointcommission.org for assistance.

3. If you have not opted out of receiving emails, please check your junk/spam/clutter and also check with your internal IT department and ask if your organization is using email filtering. Organization’s using email filtering need to add Joint Commission specific domains and email addresses to ensure all communications are received.

For general Joint Commission communication, add the Joint Commission Domain to the safe sender list: @jointcommission.org

Definition: A whitelist is a list of e-mail addresses or domain names from which an e-mail blocking program will allow messages to be received. E-mail blocking programs, also called spam filters, are intended to prevent most unsolicited e-mail messages (spam) from appearing in subscriber inboxes. Depending on your email software, emails may also go to a clutter/junk/spam/other folder.  If you are uncertain how your facility handles whitelisting, please contact your internal information technology/systems staff.

ORYX and Performance Measurement: For questions related to ORYX measure requirements and related processes, send an email to: hcooryx@jointcommission.org; be certain to include your HCO ID # in the subject line.

Chart-Abstracted Specifications: Measure questions related to Joint Commission Specifications must be submitted to the Wiki Platform: https://manual.jointcommission.org/

Joint Commission supported eCQMs / eCQM Specifications: Measure questions related to eCQM specifications should be submitted by accessing support resources available on the Joint Commission website, or copy and paste the following web address in your internet browser: https://www.jointcommission.org/measurement/specification-manuals/electronic-clinical-quality-measures/

Direct Data Submission Platform (DDSP): When logged into the DDSP, select the “Need Help?” icon and review the available topics; if you are unable to find content related to your question or issue, submit a platform support ticket via the same menu.

See also Resources, Links, & AbbreviationsPreview

Organizations with ORYX requirements are invoiced in January for the upcoming calendar year of ORYX data submission based upon organizational weighted volumes. The ORYX annual fees are billed as a separate invoice to allow flexibility to organizations internal payment processes. Staff with access to their Joint Commission Connect site may view their invoice: Survey Process > Contracts and Billing > Fee, Billing and Invoice Information

There are no separate fees for use of the data submission platform.

For eCQM data, the annual submission deadline is typically March 15th of the calendar year. eCQMs may be submitted anytime between when the data submission period opens up (typically around January 1st) until the deadline. As a reminder, eCQMs are currently submitted retrospectively, e.g., CY2026 eCQMs are due no later than March 15, 2027.

NOTE: We strongly encourage organizations to submit data well in advance of the deadline in order to have time to troubleshoot and resolve unexpected issues. There are no individual extensions.

For Organizations required but unable to submit eCQMs:

To be considered for an exemption from submitting eCQM data, all forms must be received at The Joint Commission no later than 30 days prior to the eCQM deadline (The eCQM deadline is March 15th, so ECRs must be received no later than February 15th). In cases of unanticipated events (i.e. natural disasters / data breach), organizations should notify us as soon as they are able.

For Organizations required but unable to submit Chart-abstracted measures:

To be considered for an exemption from submitting chart-abstracted data, requests must be received at Joint Commission no later than thirty (30) days prior to quarter close applicable to the request. In cases of unanticipated events (i.e. natural disasters / data breach), organizations should notify us as soon as they are able.

For more information on ECRs, refer to: Extenuating CircumstancesPreview