Tag: Accreditation
Accreditation/Compliance: Know these seven elements
August 5, 2024Mary Ellen Conway
Q. I am new to DME compliance. Where should I get started?
A. The first place you should start is to make sure your company follows the federally mandated Seven Element Compliance Plan.
1. Implement written policies, procedures and standards of conduct. Most likely your company has effective policies and procedures in place, along with clearly stated standards of conduct in your employee handbook. Review them all to ensure that they are clear and concise.
2. Designate a compliance officer...
Accreditation/Compliance: Outsource carefully
July 10, 2024Mary Ellen Conway
Q. Does my accreditation prohibit me from outsourcing some of my operational tasks?
A. The short answer is no, your accreditation does not prohibit you from outsourcing some of your operational tasks, but you’ll need to review your accreditor’s guidelines, as well as the tasks you are planning to outsource, to ensure that you are outsourcing the correct ones.
There are several operational tasks that you should not consider outsourcing. The first is your sales staff....
ACHC launches staffing accreditation
June 24, 2024HME News Staff
CARY, N.C. – The Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) has launched Healthcare Staffing Services Certification to validate that staffing agencies meet recognized standards for quality in providing clinical professionals to health care organizations. Staffing shortages have accelerated since the onset of COVID-19, and access to readily available, highly qualified and skilled clinical professionals for immediate placement has become essential for hospitals and clinics to maintain their...
Accreditation/Compliance: Check those licensure requirements
June 12, 2024Mary Ellen Conway
Q. Am I able to ship refills or supplies to my current patients if they temporarily relocate out of my service area for the summer or winter?
A. You can only ship items to patients where you have a state issued license for DME. Your clients who temporarily relocate may need to get refills, but unless you have an out-of-state license in that state, you cannot ship their refills to them.
You can avoid this problem by asking the client if they have someone who is forwarding...
Accreditation/compliance: Maintain complaint log
May 8, 2024Mary Ellen Conway
Q. Why does my accreditor tell me that they or CMS may conduct an unannounced survey anytime during my three-year accreditation cycle and how common is that?
A. When the accreditation mandate began for DME in 2008, the DMEPOS accrediting organizations (AOs) that were approved by CMS for Medicare participation had a requirement to inform their accredited organizations that they would be subject to having an additional unannounced survey by the accreditor or by CMS at some point during...
Providers, AOs reach symbiosis
January 24, 2024Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
CARY, N.C. – Infection control and safety was flagged as an area for improvement in a recent review of accreditation surveys by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, but by and large, providers have a handle on standards, says Tim Safley.
More importantly, providers and accrediting organizations have achieved a kind of symbiosis these days, says Safley, program director for DMEPOS and Sleep Accreditation for ACHC.
“I’ve found more responsiveness to accreditation...
Infusion for Health achieves accreditation
December 18, 2023HME News Staff
BREA, Calif. – Infusion for Health has achieved accreditation for infusion therapy at its locations in Nevada, Colorado, Arizona and Washington through the Accreditation Commission for Health Care. The company’s locations in California are scheduled to achieve accreditation in the first quarter of 2024. "This accreditation is a testament to our commitment to clinical excellence and exceptional care for our patients,” said Dan McCarty, CEO of Infusion for Health. “I am...
ACHC releases new survey findings
December 14, 2023HME News Staff
CARY, N.C. - The Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) has released a new Quality Review Edition of The Surveyor. The Surveyor includes actual survey findings and frequently cited deficiencies that serve to clarify specific aspects of standards found to be non-compliant. Following the sample citations are tips for compliance. The 16-page guide includes overviews of program and service operations, human resource management, record and risk management, and continuous operational improvement....
Accreditation: Membership has its privileges
December 12, 2023Tim Safley
Q. Where can I find industry resources when I need help?
A. For home medical equipment suppliers, there are relevant national and state-level associations that provide a platform for companies to come together, share knowledge, advocate for industry needs and collectively address challenges.
AAHomecare works at the national level. The organization is focused on presenting the story of HME’s value in the health care continuum to payors and regulators. By representing...
Accreditation: Educate staff on rentals
November 8, 2023Tim Safley
Q. As a provider approved by Medicare, am I obligated to offer rental equipment to Medicare beneficiaries?
A. Medicare Supplier Standard 5 states that the supplier advises beneficiaries that they may either rent or purchase inexpensive or routinely purchased durable medical equipment, and of the purchase option for capped rental durable medical equipment, as defined in §414.220(a) of this subchapter. (The supplier must provide, upon request, documentation that it has provided...