NAMES IN THE NEWS

AAAHC to Launch New Version of Handbook at ASCA 2020

JULY 2020

The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) of Skokie, Illinois, will release enhanced standards in version 41 of its Accreditation Handbook for Ambulatory Health Care, according to a July 1 release. The new version of the handbook includes new or notably revised standards and applies to all organizations seeking non-Medicare deemed status (non-MDS) accreditation with AAAHC.

The v41 standards reflect comments received from stakeholders, including the AAAHC Standards Development Committee, client organizations, surveyors, partners and staff, according to the release. The updates contain moderate realignment of a few standards for chapter applicability and cohesion. Also, elements of compliance have been capped at a maximum of seven for balanced focus within each standard. For ease of review and implementation, the handbook contains a crosswalk identifying changes from the previous version.

“AAAHC anticipates a seamless transition to the v41 standards that will enhance an organization’s quality improvement efforts,” said AAAHC Board Chair Ira Cheifetz, in the release. “We have prepared educational webinars for AAAHC-accredited organizations on standards updates. Additionally, our upcoming virtual Achieving Accreditation programs will address these changes.”

AAAHC will launch the v41 standards at the ASCA 2020 Virtual Conference & Expo, July 9 –10, providing an opportunity for organizations to connect with staff to answer questions.