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options open, and that's extremely valuable in today's reimbursement
landscape.
3. Updated standards
My accrediting body updates its accreditation manual annually. The
updates keep us current with the many and (seemingly) ever-changing
regulations we need to follow. If CMS comes out with a new directive,
for example, the accrediting body sifts through the regulatory language
in documents that can fill hundreds of pages and identifies what facilities need to know on a practical level. Then, through e-mail, accredited
facility members are invited to review and comment on new or amended standards.
The accreditor then turns new regulations into templates. Following
the templates puts us in position to provide the best possible care and
easily pass our next accreditation or CMS survey. The template form
is logical, easy to follow and keeps our entire staff on task.
Annual accreditation updates and useful templates reduce my workload considerably — every update demands attention, but lets my center stay current with the latest rules and regulations.
4. Additional resources
My accreditor offers access to national benchmarks for an additional
fee (I haven't yet used the service) and hosts remote seminars that
offer tutorials for performing effective quality improvement programs.
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