Accreditation and Licensure of Healthcare Organizations and Professionals

I have managed to compile important information on accrediting agencies and provider report cards for various types of public and private healthcare institutions here in New York. Fortunately, the New York State Department of Health has listed the local accreditation firms, which can be accessed here: https://www.health.ny.gov/facilities/hospital/accreditation/. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approve these organizations after a compliance evaluation of the minimum Hospital and Diagnostic and Treatment Center operational standards.

The role of accrediting organizations entails assessing healthcare facilities and determining whether they are compliant with the relevant statutory and federal laws. They are a critical frame that ensures high-quality patient care and performance by healthcare providers and professionals. Thus, accrediting organizations’ reports indicate healthcare organizations’ commitment to quality, distinction, and continuous improvement.

Some of the accrediting organizations, both local and regional, that influence New Yorker health organizations include:

1. The joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
2. The Accreditation Association of Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC)
3. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
4. Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP)
5. The American Medical Accreditation Program (AMAP)
6. The American Accreditation HealthCare Commission/Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (AAHC/URAC)
7. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC)
8. The Foundation for Accountability (FACCT) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Across all types of healthcare providers, there is consistent evidence that the impact of accreditation is an improved healthcare delivery process. According to Alkhenizan & Shaw (2011), healthcare organizations showed significant improvement in clinical outcomes and process of care after accreditation. Deliberate and purposeful quality improvement may cause this in response to observation, feedback, and self-reflection elements of the accreditation process (Desveaux et al., 2017). Besides, organizations become more competitive, understand themselves better, promote transparency, and benefit from seamless communication between stakeholders.

Besides accreditation, the compilation and purveyance of performance report cards foster transparency and improvement in care quality. The report cards are availed periodically to consumers, detailing information about the accreditation status, rating, and performance data. Since there are many private and federal reports concerning this information, there is a possible chance that the results may be conflicts. Also, there are about six categories of reports that consumers need to make informed decisions. For instance, the following organizations produce these reports;

1. Niagara Health Quality Coalition New York State Hospital list of the safest hospitals in the State
2. The Joint Commission Quality Check rates hospitals on national safety goals.
3. The Consumer Reports Hospital Safety Ratings has an index of safety score from 1-100
4. Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Score ranks hospitals from A to F based on performance and clinical outcomes.
5. Healthgrades compiles 50 best hospitals nationally.
6. The U.S. News and World Report Best Hospitals have a KPI that ranks 16 best hospitals.

 Nevertheless, here in New York, that information is compiled and made readily accessible by the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS’): https://www.nyuhs.org/quality/report-cards. These reports are critical to consumers since they are polished and precise to make informed decisions when choosing a healthcare provider. However, HANY’S warns that the report card purveyors’ current assessment methods are not mature enough to support their use. Thus, consumers should use the statistics provided in the reports diligently.

References

Alkhenizan, A., & Shaw, C. (2011). Impact of Accreditation on the Quality of Healthcare Services: a Systematic Review of the Literature. Annals Of Saudi Medicine, 31(4), 407-416. https://doi.org/10.4103/0256-4947.83204

Desveaux, L., Mitchell, J., Shaw, J., & Ivers, N. (2017). Understanding the impact of accreditation on quality in healthcare: A grounded theory approach. International Journal For Quality In Health Care, 30(3), 241-241. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzx151