The Road to Accreditation Commission on Accreditation of

The Road to Accreditation

Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services Founded in 1990 ◦ To promote quality standards for ambulance services Commission Member Agencies: ◦ American Ambulance Association ◦ International Association of Fire Chiefs ◦ National Association of EMS Physicians ◦ American College of Emergency Physicians ◦ National Association of EMTs ◦ National Association of State EMS Directors ◦ National Highway Transportation Safety Administration

What Accreditation Means… Med. Star has met the most stringent standards in the EMS Industry ◦ 131 separate standards – for example: 201. 06. 03 Clinical Indicator Exceptions “The agency's Clinical Performance Improvement Program shall have a process for identifying and addressing instances where measurable indicators are not in compliance with established thresholds. This process shall include individual exceptions, as well as trends. ” 201. 01 Medical Direction “The agency shall have a duly licensed physician, or physicians, responsible for medical oversight. Responsibilities shall include, at a minimum, development and authorization of clinical dispatch, patient care, and transport protocols; advisory and approval role in training/education of medical employees; advisory and approval role in clinical Performance Improvement initiatives; and advisory and approval role in EMS system design. ”

What Accreditation Means… That YOUR EMS provider has achieved elite status ◦ 22, 000 ambulance providers in the U. S. 134 (0. 6%) are accredited ◦ 1, 100 ambulance providers in Texas 4 (0. 4%) are accredited

The Process… 18 months ◦ Extreme preparation Employee education Refining processes Submission ◦ Four, 4” binders (5 copies by the way!) ◦ Documentation of compliance with CAAS standards Preliminary CAAS review (off-site) ◦ Requests for supplemental documentation

The Process… On-site review ◦ 3 person panel EMS Expert H/R Professional Emergency Physician ◦ Proof of compliance with submission “Do we REALLY do what we said we do? ” ◦ Review documents, facility ◦ Interview employees ◦ Inspect ambulances ◦ Interview emergency room staff and 1 st responders ◦ Interview doctors

They Inspected EVERYTHING!

Site Review Results… 3 levels of compliance ◦ 1 = Non-compliance ◦ 2 = Partial compliance ◦ 3 = Full compliance Med. Star: ◦ Level 3 for all 131 standards Only service in 2009 to achieve that standard!

Official Notification 12/15/2009

Special Commendation…

Next Steps… Texas State Quality Awards! ◦ Based on Baldrige Standards for Service Excellence