In 2018, the Accreditation Consulting Group (ACG) is proud to announce that we worked with approximately 10% of all the organizations seeking their initial accreditation. All such organizations had a positive accreditation thus saving money by not requiring another survey in the following year and saving staff time/expense in efficiently preparing for the accreditation survey. ACG worked with both large and very small providers across the various divisions of CARF. Fees and services have been customized to meet the needs of the organizations seeking accreditation in order to be cost effective.
Many organizations still hire a consultant even though they have been successful in the past with their CARF surveys – even when the last few surveys have resulted in a three-year accreditation outcome. The form of consulting under these circumstances is typically short-term. It may make sense to do a mock survey in order to get ready. In other cases, it may just be a matter of a few hours of consulting to verify that changes that have occurred within the organization since the last CARF survey are still meeting the standards.
The purpose of CARF is to emphasize and encourage best practices within the operations of the organization as it relates to both business practices and services delivery. In some cases, these practices are developed by the creativity and genius of the organizations themselves. Other times, best practices are taught at conferences or through the professional relationships with other providers. However, an excellent resource is CARF consultants and the CARF surveyors. Such professionals have visited many providers and have witnessed firsthand practical and effective means to do business and meet the standards.
Another reason an organization might hire a consultant even though it is a strong organization is that the standards change each year. That is the result of ever changing demands and expectations of providers. As new concepts are introduced, they are integrated into the CARF standards.
In many cases, there has been staff turnover of key positions between surveys. This is especially true when there has been a change in leadership. The new replacements may not be aware of the CARF standards or may not be able to anticipate the type of questions that might be asked during the survey. Practice interviews will help prepare persons and give them confidence.
During the survey itself, it is sometimes advantageous to have a consult available to answer questions as they arise. It is not too uncommon for there to be miscommunications between what the CARF surveyor is seeking and what an organization thinks they are looking or asking for. Such misunderstandings can easily be addressed thus avoiding a potential recommendation.
At the Accreditation Consulting Group (ACG) all of our consultants are currently CARF surveyors who each have at least 10 years of experience as a surveyor. They are excellent resources for examples of best practices and are knowledgeable of efficient ways of meeting the standards.
There are times when an organization receives an outcome of less than three-years. In some cases, the organization is in dispute with the accreditation outcome that resulted in a one-year or non-accreditation outcome. Other times, the decision was very close. CARF has a very detailed appeal process the addresses such situations when the organization feels the outcome is incorrect. If your organization finds itself in this situation, it is highly advisable to hire a consultant to guide your organization through the process.
Appeals must be made in writing within 30 calendar days of the date of the accreditation letter. If the appeal is of a one-year accreditation outcome, a resurvey will be scheduled within 60 days of receipt of the written request. If the appeal is of a non-accreditation outcome, then the review will be scheduled within 30 days of receipt of the payment for the re-survey. For more specific information about timelines and CARF’s policies regarding appeals of disputed decisions, please refer to the first section of the standards manual.
One of the first things the consultant will do is review your survey report to understand why the survey team recommended a particular outcome. The consultant will pay particular attention to the paragraph that outlines the rationale for the decision, as well as the types of recommendations that were made. Not all standards are equal. Certain standards are more important than others, especially when it comes down to the health and safety of persons served and if they are benefiting from services. A consultant can best guide you and give you feedback on what your options are and the potential to change the accreditation outcome.
If you make the decision to appeal an accreditation outcome, then the consultant will let you know what your course of action ought to be in order to potentially change the outcome. It is important that an organization aggressively addresses areas that were of concern and the cause of the accreditation decision. The consultant will guide you with these activities so that they are targeted. Examples of forms, plans and policies may be provided.
It is generally cost effective to hire a consultant and appeal a decision if the outcome was close and if changes can be made to address recommendations. The best approach is to talk to a consultant as soon as possible and seek an opinion of if your situation might result in an improved accreditation decision.
