What Does Accreditation Mean for My Care?

Health care consumers (and that's all of us) should feel empowered to ask questions, not only about a physician's personal credentials and training, but also about the practice as a whole.
If you see the AAAHC Certificate of Accreditation, you can be confident that some of your questions are already answered.

What is AAAHC?

AAAHC, or the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc., is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1979 to assist ambulatory health care organizations in improving the quality of care provided to patients. We do this by establishing, reviewing, and revising Standards, measuring performance, and providing consultation and education.


What is accreditation?

Accreditation is an external, independent review of a health care delivery organization against nationally-accepted standards and its own policies, procedures, processes and outcomes. In other words: Is the organization delivering safe, high-quality patient care in the way that it says it will?

AAAHC accreditation means that the organization participates in on-going self evaluation, peer review and education to continuously improve its care and services. The organization also commits to a thorough, on-site survey by AAAHC surveyors, who are themselves health care professionals, at least every three years.

Below are some examples of what AAAHC looks for when surveying an organization.

Note: Organizations considering accreditation should obtain a copy of the appropirate Accreditation Handbook for a conprehensive list of Standards.

• Patient Rights
• Governance
• Administration
• Quality of Care Provided
• Quality Management and Improvement
• Clinical Records and Health Information
• Infection Prevention and Control
• Professional Improvement
• Facilities and Environment
• Anesthesia Services
• Surgical and Related Services

Is my provider's organization AAAHC-accredited?

A list of AAAHC-accredited facilities can be found on this web site by clicking here. If you don't see your organization listed, ask them about their accreditation status. They may be accredited by another organization or they may have chosen not to undergo any accreditation process.

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