Practice - Healthcare Accreditation

Healthcare systems and patients benefit from accreditation standards. Many accrediting bodies are represented in various practice settings. This activity is designed to expose you to some of the major aspects of accreditation and see how it affects quality and safety.

Explore The Joint Commission and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) websites to understand what standards these accreditors require participants to meet. Consider:

History and original purpose for creation Purpose for existence now—how has it evolved? Where the requirements for each agency are publicly reported Why public reporting of metrics is important How each body operates Although we focused on CARF and The Joint Commission in this activity, there are many other accrediting bodies to consider:

Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC) American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF) American Osteopathic Association Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (AOA/HFAP) Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ) Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) Det Norske Veritas Healthcare (DNV Healthcare) Review the prompts above and summarize your notes in 550 words for future reference.