Tuesday, April 18, 2017

What It Takes To Get UHMS Accreditation


By Janine Hughes


The goal of every freestanding hyperbaric clinic is to achieve the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) accreditation so that they gain from the benefits that come with this certification. It is the way to send a clear message to the insurance companies, physicians, regulatory authorities and other parties that might refer patients to this facility that the facility is meeting the high national standards of the highest quality health care. The UHMS accreditation is a voluntary program with the aim of assuring other parties that the hospital-based hyperbaric oxygen therapy providers highest patient rating outcomes and satisfaction, meet the rigorous industry standards and practice evidence based medicine.

In order to be accredited, the medical facility's wound care team will have to provide data that detail the quality of the hyperbaric medicine, policies and procedures, safety and the patient outcomes to the team send by the UHMS to the facility. The team sent will also have to examine the staffing and training process and conduct an insight survey to examine other facilities available like the equipment, the operation and maintenance program, the standard of care and the patient safety procedures among others.

The UHMS team is sent to conduct a survey and collect data that proves that the facility meet the set standards. The data collected focuses on all areas of medical provision such as the policies and procedures in place, the quality of hyperbaric therapy offered, the safety stands, treatment outcome level of satisfaction among others.

For one reason or another, many clinics usually resort to seek help from professional consultants to be ready for the survey. Generally, the terms of reference mainly focuses on evaluating the clinic's current position and the level of conformity and nonconformity. These consultants offer insight in scope, the time, and the resources necessary for full conformity. However, they may extend their services to include steering the clinic in the process of conformity.

Ideally, there are a number of benefits that come from using a third party to guide the facility before the UHMS team come for the survey. They give a detailed report with the guideline of what should be done and when. This detailed interrelationship between the tasks to be completed and the resources necessary for the same ensures that the clinic is able to meet the standards on the right time without wastage of resources. In some instances, the consultants also help in the actual performance of some of the tasks.

Normally, the team from the UHMS conducts a survey in very wide areas within the facility. The areas of focus include fire protection, ventilation, fabrication, and the electrical installation of the chamber. For the patients, the issues to be examined include the patient rights, care, assessment, and education. In addition to this, the human resource, leadership, professional development, teaching, research and publication, information management, medical gas system, and environmental sustenance are also surveyed.

For human resources, the data in regards to professional development, qualification, training, leadership and the numbers are considered. Other areas include research and development, teaching, publication, information management, and environmental sustainability.

The data gathered is then analyzed and if the clinic meets the standards, it gets accredited and can start enjoying the benefits that comes with it. The immediate benefits include the trust earned from insurance providers and increase number patients resulting from referral from physicians and practitioners. In the long run though, this translates to increased income and growth.




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