Applicants are given telephone assistance and are encouraged to consider technical assistance as needed. A new program PEP-TALK, an acronym that stands for Preliminary Evidence Preparation, is designed to help the organization determine its level of readiness for accreditation and to establish a positive working relationship prior to the onsite accreditation survey. Normally, this is completed within 90 days. An individual surveyor or a survey team, depending upon company size and type of services, will conduct the desk review and onsite survey. Accreditation approval covers a 3-year period.
Fees vary depending upon the company size, number of services offered, and patient volume.
At the beginning of 1999, ACHC began its disease state management advanced accreditation program. Companies that specialize in a particular area of services may qualify for this recognition. The new program recognizes organizations that have developed a clinical specialty and can demonstrate that their specialization is likely to result in superior clinical out comes for the patient. Staff must have advanced training and experience in the specialty area. The organizations must demonstrate that they deliver proactive educational, monitoring, or other innovative programs to their patients designed to improve out comes.