The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), the industry leader in ambulatory health care accreditation, recently received the maximum six-year renewal of its deeming authority from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS deeming authority recognizes that the AAAHC accreditation program continues to satisfy the Medicare Conditions for Coverage for ASCs. AAAHC has consistently held Deemed Status for ASCs since 1996.

“We are pleased that CMS has again placed its confidence in AAAHC and our commitment to assessing an ASC’s compliance with the Conditions for Coverage,” said Noel M. Adachi, MBA, president and CEO of AAAHC. “As the nation’s largest accrediting body for ambulatory health care, we welcome this opportunity to continue supporting ambulatory surgery centers in their efforts to improve and strengthen their quality of care.”

The AAAHC is a non-profit organization that drives quality improvement in ambulatory patient care through a quality-focused, peer-based, and educational accreditation process. With an exclusive focus on ambulatory health care, AAAHC has developed rigorous, comprehensive, nationally recognized standards which are used during the onsite survey to measure organizational compliance with best practices and patient safety guidelines. All AAAHC surveyors have ambulatory setting experience—ensuring an expert-guided accreditation experience from start to finish. More than 6,100 facilities have earned the AAAHC Certificate of Accreditation, an achievement which speaks to an organization’s commitment to provide safe, high quality health care services to its patients. 

“AAAHC prides itself in offering best practices and an educational experience throughout the accreditation cycle,” said Adachi. “We will continue to measurably drive quality improvement in patient care by designing standards and processes that are relevant, timely, and evidence-based and through developing engaging educational resources which guide compliance and continuous improvement. Accredited organizations will have access to a greater variety of easily accessible educational resources, certification programs, and other resources—all so that they can continue to deliver quality every day—1,095 days throughout the accreditation process and for many more cycles to come.”

1095 Strong

1095 Strong is a transformational movement and call-to-action spearheaded by the AAAHC to equip ambulatory leaders with the best of what they need to operationalize quality practices while remaining cost effectively compliant. The three-year, or 1,095-day period between accreditations, is a critical time when ambulatory health organizations, with help from proven experts, can develop the kind of everyday habits that enable leaders in the industry to provide the utmost in quality care to their patients, with less cost and more predictability.

“Using the ‘1095 strong’ approach, the Standards are a primary focus every day, not just when preparing for, or participating in, a survey,” said Arnaldo Valedon, MD, anesthesiologist and AAAHC Board chair. “This ensures ongoing quality improvement initiatives are embedded in all processes and procedures, which in turn boosts patient outcomes and overall efficiency.”

To facilitate the 1095 experience, AAAHC will engage organizations more frequently throughout the accreditation cycle with tools, resources, and relevant education that bring meaningful value when needed. This approach promotes an on-going, interdependent partnership between AAAHC and its accredited organizations which seeks to continuously improve quality.

“By offering multiple touchpoints with organizations throughout the year, the AAAHC aims to help organizations integrate the Standards into their daily activities so they become second nature,” said Valedon. “In doing so, the accreditation experience is an ongoing engagement which emphasizes that quality every day equals 1095 strong.”

For more information on AAAHC and its Medicare Deemed Status program, please visit https://www.aaach.org/.