Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC)On the public register
- What they do
- Assessor
- Which standards
- On the public register for ACHC/CHAP, CMS CoPs.
- Standards
- Pricing
- Not published
Framework Healthcare & Human Services
ACHC/CHAP
ACHC (Accreditation Commission for Health Care) and CHAP (Community Health Accreditation Partner) are two private accreditors with CMS deeming authority for home health, hospice, and home infusion therapy, and ACHC also accredits DMEPOS suppliers, pharmacies, behavioral health, and other settings.
When a Medicare-certified home health agency or hospice is accredited by one of them, the accreditor's survey substitutes for the state agency's certification survey against the Medicare Conditions of Participation. Both are alternatives to the Joint Commission in these settings and are often chosen by smaller agencies.
In writing, an agency needs policies that track the CoPs for its program (42 CFR Part 484 for home health, Part 418 for hospice) and the accreditor's standards: patient rights, plan of care and comprehensive assessment, care coordination, infection prevention, emergency preparedness, QAPI, personnel qualifications and competency, medication management, and clinical records.
Surveyors verify that policies match practice through home visits, record review, and staff interviews.
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Who has to comply
Home health agencies, hospices, and home infusion therapy suppliers that choose accreditation for Medicare deemed status instead of a state agency survey, plus providers in other ACHC or CHAP programs where a payer or state requires accreditation. Accreditation is voluntary but the CoPs are not.
What you have to write
Documents on this site that ACHC/CHAP requires or expects, each with who must have it, the review cycle and the obligations that cite it.
- Emergency Action Plan Workplace
- Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan Workplace
- Harassment Prevention Policy Workplace
- Employee Handbook Acknowledgment Workplace
- Health Care Compliance Program Policies and Code of Conduct Healthcare
- Accreditation Policy and Procedure Manual (CARF, ACHC, CHAP) Healthcare
What the assessor asks to see
Surveyors ask for the agency's license and Medicare enrollment, the policy and procedure manual, governing body and administrator records, personnel files with licenses, background checks, competencies, and evaluations, a sample of clinical records with assessments and plans of care, home visit observations, the QAPI plan and data, infection control and emergency preparedness plans with drills, patient rights and complaint records, and contracts with contracted staff and services.
Where the requirement sits: ACHC / CHAP standards: policy and procedure requirements per section; personnel record requirements; 42 CFR 484 CoPs underlying
What AllyMatter does here
Controls the written policies and produces the personnel-file acknowledgment evidence.
AllyMatter publishes this site.
Assessors
Who assesses ACHC/CHAP
ACHC and CHAP surveyors employed or contracted by each accreditor, typically clinicians with home care or hospice experience. Surveys for Medicare deemed programs are unannounced.
Accredited by CMS grants and periodically renews deeming authority to each accrediting organization after reviewing its standards and survey process; state survey agencies run validation surveys on a sample of accredited providers.
Public register of assessors: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/health-safety-standards/quality-safety-oversight-general-information/accrediting-organizations-aos
Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP)On the public register
- What they do
- Assessor
- Which standards
- On the public register for ACHC/CHAP.
- Standards
- Pricing
- Not published
The Joint CommissionOn the public register
- What they do
- Assessor
- Which standards
- On the public register for ACHC/CHAP, CLIA, CMS CoPs.
- Standards
- Pricing
- Not published
Consultants
Who helps with ACHC/CHAP
A large ecosystem of home health and hospice consultants offering mock surveys, policy manuals mapped to ACHC or CHAP standards, and startup packages for new agencies. Typical engagement is a readiness review, policy customization, staff training, and a mock survey ahead of the initial or renewal survey.
Firms that name this framework in their own material. Listings we have not verified yet come from public filings and partner lists. Each firm can confirm its own.
No firm has claimed a ACHC/CHAP consultant listing yet. Claim yours →
Software
Tools for ACHC/CHAP
Tools that name this framework in their own material.
Related reading
- CMS Renews ACHC's Deemed Status as Hospice AccreditorExplains what deeming authority means and the four things CMS reviews before it lets an accreditor stand in for a state survey.Hospice News
- What Home Health and Hospice Surveyors and Auditors Look ForSets out who can survey an agency, how accreditation surveys differ from state and MAC reviews, and the records each one asks for.Homecare Homebase
Independent third-party explainers, chosen by hand. Not affiliated with this site and not paid placements. All links are nofollow.
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From the publisher
Run the Policy Side of ACHC/CHAP in AllyMatter
Approve the policies ACHC/CHAP asks for, keep every version, and record a named acknowledgment from each person who has to read them.
See how AllyMatter works ↗From $29/mo, 20 editors, unlimited staff