Under a contract with the Regional Medical Programs Service (RMPS), the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH) undertook the fulfillment of a major requirement of Section 907 of Public Law 89-239 (as amended by Public Law 91-515) to develop for the Secretary, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, criteria for the identification of US medical facilities capable of providing the most advanced techniques and methods for the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and end-stage kidney disease. Another purpose of the contract was to prepare an inventory of the specialized resources and facilities available in US hospitals that relate to these criteria and that can be utilized by community and regional planners of health care services as well as by physicians and patients. In order to carry out this contract, the JCAH constituted a Steering Committee representing those national professional organizations most concerned with quality of hospital