Knowing ahead of time what to expect during a typical survey day can provide helpful guidelines for your company’s accreditation preparations.  Here’s how your company can get ready for the arrival of the surveyor. 

Preparing in Advance for Survey Day

CMS has now mandated that all surveys must be unannounced. This means that a company does not know on which day their survey will take place. Accreditation agencies vary in how they perform their unannounced surveys, but most will give a company some window of time in which to expect their survey to take place, once they have indicated to the accrediting agency that they are prepared and ready for survey.

The staff should be alerted about the expected time frame for survey, and they should be instructed to keep their respective areas clean and organized  This includes keeping vehicles in compliance with the appropriate standards

Preparing for the survey day is an important part of the survey. The facility should be clean and orderly.  Log books and other documents that the surveyor may request to see should be readily available and in an order that is easy for the surveyor to review.

What to Expect When the Surveyor Arrives

Most surveyors are previous business owners or managers who have been in the same industry that they survey, so you can expect them to be familiar with how your type of company functions. Though they are present to perform an official task, they may also be valuable resources for ideas and assistance with improving a company’s operations; be alert to opportunities to benefit from their expertise.

On the day of survey, the surveyor will typically arrive at the start of the business day. They will present their credentials and ask for the owner or manager. Once greeted, the surveyor will expect to be shown an area where they can review company documents and client charts. They will explain the survey process, and should inform the staff of all the materials they plan to review.

The surveyor will expect to be given access to all areas of the business, and will also expect to be able to inspect vehicles. In addition, they may request to ride with company personnel during a visit to a patient.

In order to fully determine if the company being surveyed is meeting the accreditation standards and CMS guidelines, the surveyor will want to review client charts from all areas of the business.  They will also want to review personnel files, and they will ask the owner or leader to explain how the finances of the business are managed.

The surveyor will have a scoring tool and a list of criteria that they review to determine compliance. The surveyor’s role is to determine if standards are being met. It is not to pass personal judgment on how the business operates, nor is it to assess the profitability of the company. 

Most surveys are completed in one day, unless the company has multiple offices, or is extremely large and offers multiple services.

At the Conclusion of Your Survey

At the end of the survey, the surveyor will review the process and should share a list of any deficiencies that were found. Most surveyors will not be able to tell a company at that time whether or not they have passed their survey, but they should be able to indicate any areas of concern that they have.

Being prepared in advance for the survey day will help a company feel more at ease when the surveyor arrives, and will help to make the survey process a trouble-free experience.
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