The guidelines will aid accreditation-seeking companies adjust to the new regulations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 9, 2017)—Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP) released the 2018 CHAP Standards of Excellence v.1 that will equip home health providers with the tools they need to meet changing Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements, which are proposed to go into effect on January 13, 2018.

The CHAP Standards of Excellence framework has been redesigned to support a customized approach to accreditation that focuses on the specific types of care and services provided by each provider organization. In addition, the content of the Standards of Excellence has been updated to better reflect current practices in quality improvement and the homecare industry.

“Our 2018 Standards of Excellence continue to demonstrate CHAP’s leadership and knowledge of the home health care landscape,” said Barbara McCann, Chair of CHAP’s Board of Directors. “As the accreditor of the largest number of Medicare-certified home health organizations, CHAP wants to give its Medicare-certified partners maximum support transitioning to the new CoPs.”

CHAP’s revisions not only reflect national quality improvement initiatives, but they are streamlined and will promote strong continuity of care. The 2018 CHAP Standards of Excellence v.1 for home health providers are organized into 14 key performance areas grouped under three categories—organizational structure, safe delivery of care/services and high quality care/service delivery.

All CHAP initial and renewing Medicare-certified home health providers with site visits on or after the CMS effective date will be evaluated against these standards. The standards also apply to Medicaid providers seeking initial or renewed CHAP accreditation in states that require compliance with the CMS home health CoPs.

“These 2018 Standards of Excellence reflect an evolving world of care delivery and are flexible to assist organizations in navigating the current and future state of home and community-based care,” said Karen J. Collishaw, CAE, CHAP President and CEO.

Visit chapinc.org for more information.