CMS to Look at Accrediting Agencies

Health care accrediting organizations will be the subject of scrutiny and possible action by the federal government in the coming months.

At a recent conference, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Seem Verma said that

Receiving CMS’s authorization to inspect and deem healthcare providers compliant with Medicare’s quality standards is nothing short of assuming a sacred public trust…But an increasing amount of evidence indicates that accrediting organizations are not living up to that high bar.

According to Verma, CMS’s interest is motivated by a number of recent incidents of “serious deficiencies” among hospitals that had been found compliant with Medicare’s care standards.  She also is concerned that the same organizations that perform accreditations also provide consulting services, raising the possibility of conflicts of interest.

Learn more about CMS’s interest in looking into the work of accrediting companies and possibly introducing changes in accreditation processes in the HealthLeaders Media article “Verma Raps Accrediting Agencies ‘Glaring Conflict of Interest.’”