The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) is resuming onsite surveys after temporarily pausing activities during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the health care industry finds new ways to safely resume operations, AAAHC will continue to emphasize specific focus areas, such as ongoing emergency readiness and infection prevention and control processes. During surveys, AAAHC will provide health care organizations with a worksheet, specific to their survey type (Medicare, surgical non-Medicare, or primary care), to help them address emergency preparedness and infection prevention and control. 

“As AAAHC ramps up survey activity, our commitment to the 1095 Strong, quality every day philosophy with continuous survey readiness becomes ever more important,” said Tess Poland, RN, MSN, senior vice president of accreditation services at AAAHC. “All organizations that have submitted an updated, completed application for accreditation should conduct an internal assessment to evaluate their readiness and implement an action plan to address any quality gaps identified.”

AAAHC will contact all organizations pending an initial or reaccreditation survey who have completed an accreditation application, including those whose accreditation has been extended due to a postponed survey. Organizations should be prepared to share updates regarding the impact of COVID-19 on operations. AAAHC will record any organization profile changes, such as altered hours of operation and actual or potential exposure of staff and/or patients to COVID-19.

Accredited organizations with an upcoming expiration date should complete and submit their application before the expiration date in order to prevent a lapse in accreditation. 

Please visit https://www.aaahc.org/what-you-need-to-know/ for more information about AAAHC resuming surveys.