National Commission on Correctional Health Care

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the standard of care in the field of correctional health care in the United States. With support from the major national organizations representing the fields of health, law and corrections, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care is committed to improving the quality of health care in jails, prisons, and juvenile confinement facilities.

NCCHC's origins date to the early 1970s, when an American Medical Association study of jails found inadequate, disorganized health services and a lack of national standards. In collaboration with other organizations, the AMA established a program that in the early 1980s became the NCCHC, which is now supported by the major national organizations representing the fields of health, law, and corrections. It sets standards, provides education and technical assistance, and certifies correctional health professionals. NCCHC's leadership in setting standards for health services and improving health care in correctional facilities is widely recognized, affecting over 11 million people who are released from correctional facilities each year. The standards have helped the nation's correctional and detention facilities improve the health of their inmates and the communities to which they return; increase the efficiency of their health services delivery; and strengthen their organizational effectiveness.

Accreditation and certification

NCCHC offers voluntary health services accreditation program to correctional facilities. The process uses external peer reviews to determine whether correctional institutions meet national standards in their provision of health services. NCCHC also offers certification programs to individual correctional health care workers in the form of Certified Correctional Health Professional (CCHP).