The second phase introduces advisory services and a certification program to help hospitals maintain patient care during technology outages.
Joint Commission and the American Hospital Association rolled out the second phase of the Cyber Resilience Readiness program, which includes new advisory services and a new certification program designed to help hospitals assess and improve their ability to continue clinical operations during technology outages, often referred to as “digital darkness.”
The program is a voluntary initiative first announced in May 2026. The initial phase offered a free self-assessment tool for organizations to evaluate their status internally or submit results for a paid expert review. The second phase expands these offerings with tailored support and formal validation.
Advisory Services and Coordination
The advisory services are offered by both Joint Commission and the American Hospital Association. These fee-based services provide one-on-one support regarding best practices for patient safety and operating procedures during extended technology failures.
Protecting patient safety during an outage requires coordination across clinical teams, information technology specialists, and administration, according to the organizations. The advisory services provide support to bridge these teams by combining the clinical expertise of Joint Commission with the operational expertise of the American Hospital Association.
New Certification Program
The second component of this phase is the Cyber Resilience Readiness Certification. This program is developed and managed exclusively by Joint Commission. The certification is designed to validate that a hospital or health system has processes in place to sustain safe clinical operations when mission-critical technology is unavailable.
As cyberattacks in the healthcare industry continue to occur, the certification aims to give patients and the community confidence in a hospital’s ability to maintain safety during an incident. While the advisory services are a joint effort, the American Hospital Association will not participate in the assessment of hospitals and health systems for the certification.
Cyber incidents pose a direct threat to patient safety, according to the program launch. The Cyber Resilience Readiness program allows healthcare leaders to assess and validate clinical continuity readiness before an outage happens.
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