The CIHQ is one of the country’s newest agencies that offers accreditation services to acute care providers in meeting Medicare participation standards. The organization offers accreditation support to home health agencies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and ambulatory care facilities. CIHQ receives its funding from CMS and membership fees. The resources available for those seeking accreditation includes surveys and support tools. These resources are helpful in ensuring that organizations maintain their services in an EBP and cost effective manner. Lastly, CIHQ defines quality improvement as the achievement of care quality, service, and treatment through cost-effective measures (Tavenner, 2013).
The NCQA is an autonomous non-profitable accreditation organization that concentrates on the improvement of the quality of care through various activities. These activities include EBP standards, programs, and measures. NCQA primarily uses donors to fund its programs. The organization accredits individual physicians, medical groups, and health plans. The resources available for those seeking accreditation include guidelines to accreditation, surveys, and programs targeting compliance and certification. The resources intend to assist accredited organizations to achieve a superior performance level and reduced patient risk. The NCQA defines quality improvement as a movement towards effective buyer information on health plans and healthcare providers (NCQA, 2014).
The AAACH accredits ambulatory organizations such as surgery centers, endoscopy centers, student health centers, HMOs, and PPOs. As a private non-profit organization, AAACH receives its funding from grants, participant fees, and contributions from ambulatory care facilities. Like the other two organizations, AAACH’s resources available for those seeking accreditation include guidelines to accreditation, surveys, and programs targeting compliance and certification. Finally, AAACH describes quality improvement as a situation where facilities and ambulatory care organizations achieve adequate learning about benchmarking and performance measurement (AAACH, 2016).
Finally, the HQAA best describes itself as meant exclusively for pharmaceutical organizations. As a non-profitable organization, HQAA relies on grants and donor funding for its activities. The resources available for accreditation seekers include educational materials, accreditation options, and EBP measures among others. The organization defines quality improvement as including improved billing and collections, financial stability, delivery and set up, clinical respiratory, and custom orthotics (HQAA, 2016).
References
AAACH. (2016). About Us: AAACH. Retrieved from AAACH Website: https://www.aaahc.org/about/
HQAA. (2016). About Us: Healthcare Quality Association of Accreditation . Retrieved from HQAA: https://www.hqaa.org/pages/sp/infusion.aspx
NCQA. (2014). Quality Measurement Products. Retrieved from NCQA: http://www.ncqa.org/hedis-quality-measurement/quality-measurement-products
Tavenner, M. (2013, July 2). Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Initial Approval of Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality's (CIHQ's) Hospital Accreditation Program. Retrieved from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/07/26/2013-18014/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-initial-approval-of-center-for-improvement-in-healthcare-qualitys
