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"What's Most Important to Know About Accreditation"

by Julie Bowman, RRT, RCP
HME Solutions
Accreditation Surveyor,
Author, & Speaker

First of all, start preparing now! Successfully obtaining HME accreditation takes effort and time. It will take on average 3 to 6 months to prepare for a survey ...and will require active participation from almost everyone in your company to make your preparations effective.

But before you begin, make sure you actively plan for a great start so your survey preparations are not in vain.

As an HME accrediation surveyor, I am often asked... "Out of the many things that go into the hard work to prepare for accreditation, what's most important to know in order to have a successful survey"?

From my experience with performing accreditation surveys, I have had the opportunity to see the inside of a lot of different HME companies in various states of preparation. I've seen both companies that were completely ready for their survey and also, companies that were woefully deficient with their survey preparations.

Over time I observed a clear pattern which seemed to be a good indicator that differentiated between the companies that were ready for their accreditation survey from those that were not. In almost every case, the companies that were not ready failed to prepare adequately in one or more of four key areas.

To assure on target accreditation preparations there are key points to be sure to not overlook.

1. Choose the accreditation agency that's best for your company.
2. Expect to make changes in your organization and procedures.
3. Establish an internal accreditation coordinator and empower them to make necessary changes.
4. Be sure you choose a very good accreditation manual that can properly guide your preparation efforts.

Probably the most overriding question for HME business owners facing accreditation for the first time is: Which accrediting organization do I use? … Unfortunately, the truth is that there is no easy answer that will work for everyone. Every company is different and you must take into consideration their special business circumstances to answer this question wisely.

The best way to make a wise decision on which accreditation agency to use is to evaluate them carefully for yourself. Start by going to each of their websites. When using the links provided on this website to visit the websites of the three accrediting agencies, keep the following important considerations in mind while evaluating them:

• Research each accreditation agency to get an overall understanding of their areas of emphasis. Some accrediting organizations focus more on the clinical aspects of your business, some on comprehensive homecare operations, and some focus more on your facilities. Determine which agency approach is a better match for your type of HME business.
• Decide which survey process is best for you. Not all surveys are conducted in the same manner. Agencies will vary with respect to methodology, expected time for survey and the requirement of a preliminary evidence report. Some agencies even have an unannounced survey while others do not. All of these aspects are important to consider. One survey process out of the others may clearly work best for your organization.
• Compare costs. Although price should not be your primary consideration, each agency prices their accreditation service differently. Learn about all of the costs that are involved throughout the accreditation process and beyond when you will have to get re-accredited.

When choosing the right accreditation agency for your HME company, it pays to do your proper due diligence.

Your company and how it operates will be highly scrutinized during the accreditaton survey. The bottom line is that you will be held accountable for your company to conform to the CMS Quality Standards, the requirements of the accreditation agency you have chosen, and all Federal and State regulations that apply. Adjustments are almost always necessary to meet these criteria for a successful survey.

You can be proactive to make the necessary adjustments within your company so you are ready for your survey, or reactive where you are forced to change as a result of an unsuccessful survey. Either way you should expect that your company will have to make some adjustments.

My recommendation is that each HME company seeking accreditation willingly embrace the changes that are needed to meet their survey with confidence. You'll save a lot of time, effort, and expense by choosing to be proactive in your survey preparations. The changes you make to get successfully accredited should be considered as a worthwhile investment that will benefit your company in the long run, in terms of operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee morale, and even revenue enhancement.

You must do more than just give lip service to change if your company is actually going to change in the ways required to meet the demands of accreditation. The only way I have seen this work well was when the company formally designated someone within the company to be the offical internal accreditation coordinator for all of the accrediation survey preparations.

The internal accreditation does not necessarily have to be the president or CEO, but must be someone who everyone in the company has been given the authority to identify changes that must be carried through. The internal accreditation coordinator needs to be someone who will be dedicated to the task of achieving accrediation for your company and meaningfully empowered so that they can be an effective facilitator for change. Anything less than this is kidding yourself that your company will be ready.

Each accreditation agency will offer materials that indicate what requirements they expect you to follow during their survey. These requirements indicate to which standards your company must demonstrate conformance. However, these materials are not intended to explain how you must comply, or, in other words, what you need to do to comply.

What you actually need to do to comply is the heart of the matter for your accreditation survey to be successful. Knowing how to comply is where a good accreditataion manual comes into play to help you know what you must do. Choosing the right accreditation manual is critical for your success because it will be your primary guide in your survey preparations.

Although there are a lot of accreditation manuals you can buy, unfortunately, they are not all of equal value. There are many attributes that make up a good accreditation manual and not all manuals have every needed feature. When you compare the available manuals to each other what you will find is a large difference between them in terms of completeness, structure, quality of content, customization, and how up-to-date they are.

After comparing accreditation manuals and also seeing how well different manuals have performed in HME company surveys, I have found one accreditation manual that I would recommend above all the others. It's called HME Accrediation Simplified. You can learn more about this excellent accreditation manual for yourself at the link provided below. HME companies that have used this manual have had a 100% success rate with their accreditation survey.

Remember, choosing the right accrediation manual will make completing the accreditation process much easier, and you'll save money too.

Recommended Accreditation Manual

Learn more about HME Accreditation Simplified! at: www.hmeAccreditationSimplified.com

No matter which accreditation organization you choose, there is one Accreditation Toolkit that is unique. This toolkit comes customized to your company operations allowing you to prepare for accreditation without significant disruption to your day to day workflow.

You will need a good accreditation manual to get started with your survey preparations. HME Accreditaiton Simplified is recommended because it is comprehensive, tailored to your specific business, and easy to use.

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