The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded continuing accrediting authority to the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP) until September 2013. This is only one of three CMS-approved accrediting programs in the country; HFAP has expanded to provide accreditation for a range of facilities, including ambulatory surgery centres. An organization with deeming authority can accredit hospitals to comply with Medicare's conditions of participation. Hospitals seeking Medicare approval may choose to be surveyed either by an accrediting body or by state surveyors on behalf of CMS.
The continued recognition of HFAP is the culmination of a rigorous process of reviews of policies and procedures, an onsite visit by federal officials, and scrutiny of actual hospital inspection records. Michael Zarski of HFAP says, "What this means to patients and healthcare consumers is the assurance that any facility accredited by HFAP meets or exceeds quality and safety standards set by CMS." A non-profit, nationally recognized accreditation organization, HFAP has been accrediting healthcare facilities for more than 60 years and its mission is to advance high-quality patient care and safety through objective application of recognized standards.
The CMS has also approved the continuation of deeming authority for The Joint Commission's hospital accreditation programme until July 2014. Mark Pelletier at The Joint Commission comments, "Accreditation is a proven method for improving the care of Medicare beneficiaries." The Joint Commission's hospital accreditation programme has held deeming authority since the inception of the Medicare program in 1965.In addition to hospitals; it has federal deeming authority for ambulatory surgery centres and critical access hospitals. The Joint Commission, a private non-profit organization, accredits the overwhelming majority of hospitals in the United States. This is the first time that it had to submit for re-accreditation, as until 2008 it automatically had continual deeming status.
DNV Healthcare attained Medicare deeming authority in September 2008. It is part of a Norway-based foundation that offers third-party assessment, verification, and certification of compliance with standards. It is the first and only CMS approved accreditation program to offer annual surveys, and to integrate ISO 9001 continual quality with the Medicare conditions of participation. It is a revolutionary approach that turns accreditation into a strategic business advantage – by creating new standards of excellence from the skills, experience and ingenuity that already exist in your hospital. DNV argues that NIAHO is designed from the ground up to drive quality transformation into the core processes of running a hospital; and helps healthcare organizations meet their national accreditation obligations and achieve ISO 9001 compliance in the same seamless programme.
Just over a year since CMS granted hospital deeming authority, hospitals across the USA that are embracing a totally new approach to accreditation and almost 100 have been accredited or are being processed. As well as regional hospitals, they include teaching hospitals and new builds. In 2010, DNV is introducing a range of specialist accreditation services, including for primary stroke centres and critical access hospitals. Dave Griggs of St Elizabeth Medical Centre in New York says, “ DNV helps staff focus on what matters, the patients.”
Having competition has forced the existing two accreditors to improve their offering and not take their hospital customers for granted.