A new accreditation option for hospitals

There’s a new accreditation option on the block. Late last week, CMS approved the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ) as an accreditation organization for acute care hospitals. CIHQ accreditation will closely follow CMS’ Conditions of Participation, with additional quality of care and patient safety standards.

CIHQ enters the accreditation arena at an interesting time. Experts in the field, including several Credentialing Resource Center editorial advisors, have observed a slow move away from Joint Commission-only accreditation. Results from our recent MSP Salary Surveys back this up: In the 2013 survey, organizations accredited by DNV, HFAP, and NCQA hovered in the 4%-5% range. Another 4% said their facilities were surveyed by CMS only. Joint Commission-accredited facilities accounted for 74% of respondents, down from 75.8% in 2012 and 87% in 2011. The full 2013 survey results appeared in the July issue of Credentialing Resource Center Journal.

Will your facility investigate CIHQ as an accreditation option? Let me know at mstevens@hcpro.com. And thank you for reading!