NAMES IN THE NEWS

AAAHC Publishes New Version of Handbook

SEPTEMBER 2020

The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) of Skokie, Illinois, published version 41 of the Accreditation Handbook for Medicare Deemed Status last week. The revised edition provides the most current information and guidance for organizations seeking AAAHC Medicare Deemed Status (MDS) accreditation and promotes best practice for the safety and care of patients and staff within the ambulatory setting, according to a September 1 release.

Following a review process and multiple public comment periods with accredited organizations, partner associations, committees, surveyors and staff, the moderate revisions in v41 reflect realignment of standards for improved clarity of requirements. For ease of review and implementation, the handbook contains a crosswalk identifying changes from the previous version, according to the release.

In addition, reformatted v41 of the MDS handbook includes “elements of compliance” and compliance ratings charts.These additions increase transparency about how surveyors will evaluate compliance and allow organizations to easily conduct self-assessments that may more closely align with onsite surveys.

“While the revised 2020 version of the handbook includes only moderate changes, it presents the expectations for demonstrating compliance in a more concise, cohesive format,” said Noel Adachi, president and cheif executive officer of AAAHC, in the release. “We anticipate a seamless transition for organizations to integrate policies, procedures or programs to be compliant with the v41 changes.”