Top 3 UHMS Accreditation Survey Preparation Tips

Accreditation shows commitment to professionalism, excellence, and quality. It lets your patients, community, and payers know that you care to be the very best!

If you are in the beginning phases of preparing for Disease Specific Certification or The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) accreditation you may be asking “where should I start?”

Here are 3 tips to help you get organized and accomplish a task that can look daunting at first:

1. Assemble a committee:

   Select three or four staff who have interest and the skill set to match the tasks. It can be a combination of management and clinical staff. Committee members must be dedicated to meet every 2 weeks beginning 6-8 months before the anticipated survey date. Block time on everyone’s calendars immediately. Create a written plan that includes a timeline.

2. Review the accreditation standards & criteria:

   There may be hundreds of them! The standards are available from the accrediting organization and usually found in a manual as well as online. Divide them amongst your committee members and each member will become well versed in their assigned areas. Try to assign the sections/chapters of standards that pertain to the practice & responsibilities of the committee members. For example: Standards that address administrative criteria should be assigned to committee members who are managerial. Clinical standards and Patient Care standards can be assigned to committee members who are clinicians.
   Each committee member will be responsible to thoroughly read each standard assigned to them and go through each of the standard’s criteria with a fine-toothed comb. Compare the accreditation criteria to actual practice at your facility. If areas where the standard is not fully met are identified, correct them systematically and methodically. A Plan-Do-Stud- Act cycle is perfect to help this process.
   Check to see that the facility has policies and procedures implemented which meet or exceed each standard and that practice demonstrates these policies and procedures in action.

3. Keep your staff updated and informed:

   Involve the entire team in the process. An informed staff will be onboard to assist and ensure a successful survey. Conduct mock interviews to familiarize the staff with the types of questions that may be asked by a surveyor. Being prepared helps lessen the anxiety many staff members have surrounding a survey.

Good luck!

Need help creating or enhancing your wound care or hyperbaric service line? Contact Comprehensive Healthcare today.