Healthcare leaders must look beyond compliance and align sourcing with clinical quality

Effective Jan. 1, 2026, the long-standing National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) shifted to the National Performance Goals (NPGs) for hospital and critical access hospital accreditation programs. These are clearly defined measurable goals that help hospitals and critical access hospitals improve safety, quality and outcomes—and it’s more than a name change. This shift signals a deeper evolution in how hospitals are evaluated, expanding from a focus on preventing harm to achieving measurable, organization-wide performance outcomes. As The Joint Commission’s focus shifts from compliance-based safety requirements to performance-driven goals, healthcare leaders will need to more deliberately align sourcing strategy with clinical quality, patient safety and enterprise-wide performance outcomes.

Why this matters

Historically, sourcing has centered on cost control, standardization and regulatory compliance. However, as healthcare organizations transition to the NPGs, sourcing decisions now must include measurable clinical outcomes, operational reliability and workforce stability. In this new framework, sourcing becomes a strategic enabler of quality and safety—directly impacting accreditation readiness, patient outcomes and enterprise risk. For healthcare leaders, this means procurement strategy is now inseparable from performance strategy, and organizations that don’t prioritize this shift risk patient harm and loss of accreditation.

A leadership imperative

Building and sustaining a culture of safety requires more than policy. It requires deliberate leadership decisions that shape the environment in which care is delivered, including how clinical and sourcing strategies are developed and aligned. As a result, leadership accountability moves to the forefront. When strategy, sourcing and clinical quality are intentionally connected, organizations are better positioned to improve measurable NPG outcomes, strengthen patient care and sustain performance excellence across the enterprise.

Here are four sourcing strategies organizations should consider:

1. Evaluate clinical reliability and error prevention as core criteria. Within the request for proposal (RFP) process, evaluate products and services not only on specifications and cost, but also on their ability to support clinical reliability and reduce risk across high-risk workflows. Sourcing criteria that emphasize delivering the right care to the right patient at the right time, along with standardization and consistent performance, help enable reliable care delivery throughout clinical settings. Evaluating vendors based on demonstrated performance, such as reductions in medication errors or imaging-related safety events, directly aligns sourcing decisions with NPG expectations for accuracy and reliability. Embedding reliability intentionally into sourcing decisions—as opposed to creating individual workarounds—increases the likelihood of performance success.
2. Prioritize safety and infection prevention. The sourcing process increasingly plays a critical role in reducing preventable harm by incorporating safety and infection prevention considerations into contracting decisions. Evaluating safety-engineered design, environmental factors and evidence-based infection reduction during sourcing enables organizations to proactively mitigate risk. Products and technologies that contribute to safer care environments support both patient and workforce safety, which reinforces performance expectations related to reliability and harm reduction. An approach focused on safety and harm prevention strengthens resilience and minimizes downstream clinical and operational burden.
3. Support equitable, patient-centered care. Clinical and quality review within the RFP process plays an important role in ensuring that sourced solutions support equitable, patient-centered care across diverse populations. Incorporating evaluation criteria related to usability, accessibility, communication and patient engagement helps organizations assess how well products and services meet the needs of patients and care teams. Sourcing decisions that account for health literacy, language access and patient experience can contribute to improved outcomes, increased trust and more consistent care delivery. When equity and patient-centered design considerations are integrated into sourcing decisions, organizations are better positioned to support NPG expectations related to outcomes and informed care.
4. Commit to supplier partnerships that enable performance and accountability. Suppliers that demonstrate a commitment to partnership and align with organizational objectives, support clinical and operational priorities, and engage collaboratively beyond contract award are a value-add to a healthcare organization’s performance strategy and goals. Suppliers that actively collaborate with clinical, quality and supply chain leaders are better positioned to support organizations as performance expectations evolve. Sourcing decisions emphasizing long-term partnership, alignment and responsiveness equip healthcare leaders to translate sourcing strategies into meaningful improvements in clinical, quality, safety and overall organizational performance.

The call for the new NPGs is to rise above requirements and enhance enterprise-wide performance. As healthcare organizations prepare for this new transition, leaders must view this change as not simply a regulatory requirement but as a catalyst for performance transformation. Integrating the NPGs into both clinical and sourcing decision-making allows organizations to more intentionally align quality, safety and operational priorities. Those that embed these goals into their clinical and sourcing strategies will set the standard for quality, safety and performance excellence.