Last week, the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) announced the launch of a new accreditation program for small hospitals, which will be offered through the Accreditation Association for Hospital/Health Systems Inc. (AAHHS).
“The movement to accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other recent trends have led to more health systems reabsorbing primary care physicians and free-standing ambulatory care settings back into the hospital," said John Burke, AAAHC president and CEO, in a written statement about the launch. "With our experience as the leader in ambulatory care accreditation, we saw an opportunity to improve patient care by offering a program that addresses both outpatient and inpatient hospital care and the ambulatory care offered by small hospital systems.”
The idea for the new accreditation program began a few years ago, said Jack Egnatinsky, immediate past chair of the AAAHC Board of Directors, when it was realized that smaller, rural and critical access hospitals were usually the most underserved hospitals.
“These smaller and usually rural hospitals truly want to be accredited but the cost of this often makes it impossible,” said Egnatinsky. “Our research suggests that healthcare providers desire and will benefit from the unique accreditation model that AAAHC has developed for its ambulatory accreditation programs. Our survey process focuses on practical, consultative and educational support and advice in a peer-based, interactive atmosphere."
According to Egnatinsky, the AAAHS hospital accreditation program will:
· evaluate healthcare services against nationally recognized standards of care;
· provide an educational, consultative program rather than a punitive approach;
· help develop the skills and competencies of hospital staff;
· offer opportunities for quality improvement based on survey observations and related best practices; and
· include a peer-based on-site survey conducted by surveyors who themselves are hospital leaders.
AAHHS and AAAHC will have separate governing boards and function independently as operating entities of an umbrella organization, the Accreditation Association, said Egnatinsky. The hospital accreditation will be launched as a pilot program this year.
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