DNV HealthCare Inc.: NIAHO^SM Accreditation Program


As a healthcare professional, you've probably felt the frustration of dealing with the current accreditation process.

There are 6,000+ hospitals in the United States and approximately 40% of all patient claims are derived from governmental reimbursement. The organization overseeing these reimbursements is the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In order to receive Medicare reimbursement, a hospital must be accredited by a national accreditation organization approved by CMS or pass a survey through the State Survey program. CMS has approved only two private organizations to accredit hospitals to participate in the Medicare program in addition to the State Survey program. These two private alternatives are the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO^®) and the American Osteopathic Association's (AOA) Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP^®). Neither of the two private accreditation organizations or the State Survey program utilizes the International ISO 9001 Quality Management System standard as part of the accreditation process.

DNV HealthCare Inc. (formerly TÜV Healthcare Specialists) is in the process of applying to CMS to be granted deeming authority as a national accreditation organization. Approval by CMS will make DNV HealthCare Inc. the first private alternative to hospital accreditation in the last 40 years!

DNV HealthCare Inc. has developed the National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (NIAHO^SM ) program as an alternative to current accreditation paths.

NIAHO^SM is the first Integrated AccreditationSM program for hospitals in the United States. DNV HealthCare Inc. defines Integrated AccreditationSM as a program that utilizes two or more independent sets of standards operating in the same audit process to produce one set of outcomes. NIAHO^SM integrates the internationally recognized ISO 9001 Quality Management System standard with Medicare's Hospital Conditions of Participation. The result is a fresh, new approach helping hospitals to improve patient care and safety in an economical manner without the aggravation of current accreditation options.

As DNV HealthCare Inc. continues with its application for deeming authority, hospitals currently participating in the NIAHO^SM program have recognized the benefit of ISO Certification in addition to maintaining the CMS approvals necessary to receive Medicare reimbursement. Contact us today to discover how ISO 9001 certification can help your hospital.

Why NIAHO^SM ?
DNV HealthCare Inc. has identified that in order to truly improve healthcare, hospitals need to implement a program that adheres to the international ISO 9001 Management System standard. Healthcare organizations that are ISO 9001 certified can dramatically improve their management system, resulting in improved patient safety and operational performance. As a result, DNV HealthCare Inc. began developing the NIAHO^SM hospital accreditation program incorporating the ISO 9001 standard. The NIAHOSM accreditation program is the first to provide a hospital accreditation program utilizing the ISO 9001 certification.

When DNV HealthCare Inc. is granted deeming authority by CMS, the NIAHO^SM accreditation program will combine ISO certification and accreditation to the Medicare Hospital Conditions of Participation into one complete survey process.

In the meantime, hospitals that are interested in learning more about ISO certification should contact us for more information or call 513-947-8343.