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AAAHC Releases Allergy Documentation Bundle

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) of Deerfield, Illinois, announced the launch of the Allergy Documentation bundle, a resource aimed at improving allergy documentation practices within ambulatory care organizations. This package provides healthcare professionals with the tools and guidance necessary to address this critical area of patient safety, according to a release.

Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the US, affecting more than 100 million people annually. Despite the prevalence of allergies, improper documentation remains a common deficiency in healthcare settings, posing significant risks to patient safety, according to the release. The AAAHC Allergy Documentation bundle provides various resources to improve documentation processes.

The resource includes the allergy documentation benchmarking study, an on-demand webinar, three print copies of the toolkit and three infographic posters. Organizations that integrate these resources can establish consistent methods for documenting allergies in patient records that are clear and readily accessible for clinical decision-making.

“We designed the Allergy Documentation bundle to effectively address the 15 percent of our accredited organizations with this high-deficiency area,” said Noel Adachi, president and chief executive officer of AAAHC, in the release. “Accurate allergy documentation is critical to patient safety, and this comprehensive value package provides the necessary resources to help organizations improve their allergy documentation practices.”

The AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement analyzes accreditation performance results for trends and compliance to AAAHC standards. Julie Lynch, director of the institute, created the collection of allergy documentation tools to assist organizations in their compliance journey. “With allergies being the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the US, it is essential that healthcare providers have a standardized and effective approach to allergy documentation,” she said in the release. “Our new bundle is designed to simplify this process, offering practical tools and guidance to help enhance allergy documentation to prevent allergic reactions and ensure that care teams are fully equipped to respond when they occur.”