Rural Health Clinic Inspection and Accreditation Program

There is an immediate need for private accreditation, to meet the compliance requirement of CMS. However, the much greater value comes from the establishment of a national standard of patient safety, equitably applied across the country. Patient safety standards should be the same in very small markets as in larger markets. The interpretation of the broad conditions for coverage established by CMS will be standardized through accreditation by the RHC Accreditation Program. An inspection in one State will be conducted the same as an inspection in all other areas of the country.

This standardized approach will also lend itself to the development of national benchmarks to improve the quality of care. As the nation moves toward a performance based system of delivery of health care there will be a need for standardized measures of patient safety and service delivery.

The RHC Accreditation Program also provides a conduit for the individual clinic to have an impact on the standards and the interpretation of those standards. It is a peer based program that assures that inspectors are trained specifically to perform RHC inspections and in most instances are practitioners in their own rural health clinic.

Any Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, Nurse Midwife, or Physician working in a rural health clinic can volunteer to be an inspector. Inspectors are trained by RHC Accreditation Program staff and senior inspectors. To become a Certified RHC Inspector you must attend the RHC Accreditation Inspector Training Course and pass a competency examination at the completion of the course. The inspector certification is valid for three years. Certified inspectors are assigned by the RHC Accreditation Program staff. Inspectors are compensated $500 + travel expenses per inspection.

RHC Accreditation is a 3 year program. An inspection is performed as part of initial accreditation. Each year prior to the date of your accreditation the clinic performs a self-inspection and submits it to the AAAASF office. Each clinic is re-inspected every 36 months.

The clinic downloads the application materials from our website.
Once the application is complete the clinic submits the application and fee to the AAAASF office.
The AAAASF staff checks the application for completeness and checks the credentials of the staff.
AAAASF contacts an inspector and arrangements are made for the inspection.
The inspector reports his findings to the AAAASF office.
If deficiencies are found the clinic has 30 days to make corrections and submit substantiation to the AAAASF office.
If no deficiencies are found or once they are satisfied accreditation is approved and a certificate is mailed to the clinic.



	From the first consideration of this project AAAASF has been working with the National Association of Rural Health Clinics to gain insight into the rural health clinic environment and to solicit expertise in the development of standards, training of inspectors, and recruitment of inspectors.


FAQ
What is the value of private accreditation? There is an immediate need for private accreditation, to meet the compliance requirement of CMS. However, the much greater value comes from the establishment of a national standard of patient safety, equitably applied across the country. Patient safety standards should be the same in very small markets as in larger markets. The interpretation of the broad conditions for coverage established by CMS will be standardized through accreditation by the RHC Accreditation Program. An inspection in one State will be conducted the same as an inspection in all other areas of the country. This standardized approach will also lend itself to the development of national benchmarks to improve the quality of care. As the nation moves toward a performance based system of delivery of health care there will be a need for standardized measures of patient safety and service delivery. The RHC Accreditation Program also provides a conduit for the individual clinic to have an impact on the standards and the interpretation of those standards. It is a peer based program that assures that inspectors are trained specifically to perform RHC inspections and in most instances are practitioners in their own rural health clinic. How are inspectors chosen? Any Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, Nurse Midwife, or Physician working in a rural health clinic can volunteer to be an inspector. Inspectors are trained by RHC Accreditation Program staff and senior inspectors. To become a Certified RHC Inspector you must attend the RHC Accreditation Inspector Training Course and pass a competency examination at the completion of the course. The inspector certification is valid for three years. Certified inspectors are assigned by the RHC Accreditation Program staff. Inspectors are compensated $500 + travel expenses per inspection. What is the accreditation cycle? RHC Accreditation is a 3 year program. An inspection is performed as part of initial accreditation. Each year prior to the date of your accreditation the clinic performs a self-inspection and submits it to the AAAASF office. Each clinic is re-inspected every 36 months. What is the application process? The clinic downloads the application materials from our website. Once the application is complete the clinic submits the application and fee to the AAAASF office. The AAAASF staff checks the application for completeness and checks the credentials of the staff. AAAASF contacts an inspector and arrangements are made for the inspection. The inspector reports his findings to the AAAASF office. If deficiencies are found the clinic has 30 days to make corrections and submit substantiation to the AAAASF office. If no deficiencies are found or once they are satisfied accreditation is approved and a certificate is mailed to the clinic. How much does accreditation cost? Accreditation fees are based on the clinic FTE as reported to CMS as follows. Less than 2 FTE - $1,655 annual fee 2 to 4 FTE - $2,095 annual fee More than 4 FTE - $4,000 annual fee The Inspection fee is $1400.

FAQ