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What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued proposed changes to accrediting organization (AO) requirements.
What else to know: The proposed changes are intended to strengthen the agency’s oversight of AOs and prevent conflicts of interest. Comments are due to CMS by 2 p.m. (PT) on April 15.
The proposed rule aims to strengthen oversight, enhance enforcement, increase transparency, ensure health and safety, and reduce provider burden. The proposals include changes to:
- Hold AOs accountable to the same standards as state survey agencies (SAs).
- Ensure that AOs remain independent reviewers by addressing conflicts of interest and placing certain limitations on the fee-based consulting services that AOs provide to the health care facilities they accredit.
- Prevent AO conflicts of interest by prohibiting AO owners, surveyors, and other employees, as well as their immediate family members that have an interest in or relationship with a health care facility accredited by the AO, from participating in surveys, having input in the survey results and involvement in pre- or post-survey activities of that facility, or from having access to survey records related to that facility.
- Address potential and actual conflicts of interest by requiring AOs to report specific information to CMS about how they will monitor, prevent, and handle conflicts of interest and fee-based consulting services they provide.
- Improve AO performance by requiring AOs with poor performance to submit a publicly reported correction plan to CMS.
- Improve consistency and standardization in surveys nationwide by more closely aligning AO survey activity requirements and staff training with those of SAs.
Details are available in a fact sheet.
