Joint Commission: Language Access Is Patient Safety

Language Access Is Now a Patient Safety Requirement:
What the New Joint Commission Update Really Means for Hospitals

The Joint Commission’s newest report on National Performance Goals^TM for the Hospital Program (effective January 2026) makes one thing clear for 2025 and beyond: language access is now a formal patient safety requirement, not just a quality initiative.

Healthcare teams have been working for years to improve communication with Non-English Preferred (NEP) patients — this guidance simply raises the bar and aligns accreditation standards with what clinicians already know: great care requires clear understanding.

Here’s what changed, why it matters, and what providers need to be ready for.

The JC’s Message in Plain Language: Safe care requires language access.

Communication is now a defined patient safety standard

The National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) reinforce what many clinicians experience daily: miscommunication is a leading cause of preventable harm. Language barriers aren’t edge cases anymore — they sit at the core of patient safety.

The Joint Commission references goals #4 and #7 in its latest "National Performance Goals™ Effective January 2026 for the Hospital Program."

Goal #4: “The hospital prioritizes excellent health outcomes for all.”

This goal now requires hospitals to:

• Stratify outcomes by preferred language

• Provide community materials in the most common patient languages

This shift treats language preference as a critical variable in quality, equity, and care planning — not a detail on a form.

Goal #7: “The hospital respects the patient’s right to safe, informed care.”

JC is explicit: patients need information delivered in the language they understand, especially for:

• Informed consent

• Discharge

• Care planning

• Medication instructions

The Evidence: Language Access Directly Impacts Patient Safety

A leading study (Divi et al., International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 2007) shows:

• LEP patients experience more adverse events

• Those events are more likely to have serious clinical consequences

• Professional interpreters significantly reduce communication errors

LEP patients who receive care from professional interpreters are 40% less likely to experience serious adverse events than those relying on untrained interpreters or family members.

Why Providers Need to Prepare Now

Poor performance on patient safety doesn’t just affect a score — it affects accreditation, reimbursements, and trust. Strengthening language access reduces both clinical and operational risk.

Here’s the short list of real-world impacts:

The bottom line: Investing in language access protects patients and the organization.

Your Language Access Partner Matters

To meet these rising expectations, providers need a reliable, world-class language access partner they can count on.

At Jeenie, we support thousands of healthcare teams with fast, accurate Human+AI interpreting — backed by reporting, quality controls, and the data visibility needed for confident Joint Commission audits. We're here to make the compliance part easier, the safety part stronger, and the day-to-day workflow smoother.

Jeenie delivers
See how this large community health center client with over a dozen locations improved equity and efficiency. Simply put, quality language access leads to broader gains — from smoother workflows, to better patient rapport, happier clinicians, and measurable ROI.

Closing Thought: Providers Are Ready
— and Patients Will Feel the Difference

Healthcare teams are already committed to delivering safe, equitable, informed care. The Joint Commission’s update simply clarifies the standard and gives providers a stronger framework to meet it. By strengthening language access and ensuring patients receive information in the language they understand, providers elevate safety, support staff, and build trust.