Home Health & Hospice Week

Hint: Pick the right organization, and think of the surveyor as your friend. If you're an unaccredited home medical equipment supplier who is considering pursuing accreditation, you're not alone.
 
With a growing number of states moving toward mandatory accreditation for some HME suppliers (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XIV, No. 7, p. 54), and the feds considering mandatory accreditation under competitive bidding, accrediting organizations are being swamped with inquiries from HME companies.
 
"We've been accrediting medical equipment and our other home care segments since 1988, and in 2004 for the very first time home medical equipment was the number-one segment for new applications," says Maryanne Popovich, executive director of Home Care Accreditation Services at the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Home health usually occupies the top spot, she reports.
 
While there's no firm number on how many HME suppliers are currently accredited, Bob Thornburg - a Seal Beach, CA-based HME accreditation consultant - estimates the figure at about 35 percent. Master the Game with These Strategies Thornburg and other accreditation experts offer these tips for simplifying the accreditation process:  1. Determine which organization is right for you. While the three major accrediting bodies - JCAHO, Community Health Accreditation Program and the Accreditation Commission for Healthcare - credential HME suppliers and clinical respiratory services, talk to them about any specialized services you offer (e.g., fitter services, mail-order services, etc.) to find out what specific accreditation designations are available, Thornburg suggests.
 
Strategy: Get a feel for which accrediting body has a culture that best matches yours, he adds. Besides talking directly with accrediting organizations, talk with other colleagues who've been through the process.
 
And keep in mind your various business relationships. "Look to organizations you contract with, insurance companies and others, to verify that they will accept accreditation from the organization you wish to go with," advises Joel Marx, president of JCAHO-accredited Medical Service Companies in Cleveland.  2. Decide how to navigate the process. There are three basic approaches to accreditation: Do it yourself, purchase a manual or hire a consultant.
 
Option #1: Handling the process on your own can be complex and time-consuming, Thornburg cautions. But if you have a good policy writer on staff, that person may be able to do an excellent job. Just don't forget to budget her salary as part of your accreditation costs.
 
Option #2: Manuals can cost from $1,000 to $4,000, but they make life easier by interpreting the standards for you and offering prefabricated policies and procedures you can easily edit to fit your organization.
 
Option #3: Hiring a consultant will cost thousands of dollars, depending on your organization's size and existing infrastructure, but it could save you headaches - and maybe even cash - down the road.
 
Just don't forget to [...]