Effective on October 19, 2020, the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (“ACHC”) and the Accreditation Association for Hospitals/Health Systems (“AAHHS”) merged to form a single company in order to streamline accreditation and certification services for health care providers with various survey needs. AAHHS is the parent company of the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (“HFAP”), the accrediting body for a number of hospitals and critical access hospitals in the U.S. HFAP now functions as a brand within ACHC, and together, the organization is known as ACHC.
The merger, the first between two accrediting organizations with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) deeming authority, has been formally approved by CMS. Accreditation cycles, and account advisors and processes will not be affected by the merger but each of HFAP and ACHC now has access to more resources and programs than they did prior to the merger. HFAP standards and certification requirements will remain the same. Importantly, the merger does not require current HFAP customers to undergo an initial survey. HFAP customers will still be able to access HFAP here.
HFAP accredits hospitals, critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and clinical laboratories. HFAP also provides accreditation for ambulatory specialty care/office-based surgery and certification for stroke care, laser and lithotripsy services, joint replacement programs, advanced compounding and wound care. ACHC accredits home health, hospice, renal dialysis, home infusion therapy and DMEPOS and has additional programs for behavioral health, ambulatory care, pharmacy, private duty and sleep medicine.
In a press release announcing the merger, José Domingos, President and CEO of ACHC, stated, “[t]ogether, the combined services of ACHC and HFAP open possibilities for healthcare providers, affording them more choices and greater ease in meeting the accreditation and certification needs of their organizations.”
For more information, see the press release here.
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