The primary goal for the freestanding hyperbaric clinic should be to attain the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) accreditation. This is for obvious reasons; it is the way to stay in business for long. It assures other players that services offered by the facility are beyond reproach. Although it requires heavy investment to attain quality in all aspects, the benefits that follow are immense. The referrals from physicians and other medical practitioners increase while the medical insurers trust the institution with their clients are willing to reimburse any expenses without too much negotiation. Normally, the UHMS accreditation is voluntary; however, the process of attaining it is rigorous.
By definition, the accreditation is simply to ascertain that the hyperbaric oxygen therapy that the clinic offers if of industry standards. It also means that this clinic scores highly in patient satisfaction rate and practices evidence based medicine. This however does not come easy. There are stringent requirements set by the body that the facility has to meet to be accredited.
In order to ascertain this, the health care facility has to be surveyed by a team from the UHMS. In addition to above data, they have to gather data on training processes, the equipment operation and maintenance, and the safety standards in place.
For one reason or another, many clinics usually resort to seek help from professional consultants to be ready for the survey. Generally, the terms of reference mainly focuses on evaluating the clinic's current position and the level of conformity and nonconformity. These consultants offer insight in scope, the time, and the resources necessary for full conformity. However, they may extend their services to include steering the clinic in the process of conformity.
Ideally, there are a number of benefits that come from using a third party to guide the facility before the UHMS team come for the survey. They give a detailed report with the guideline of what should be done and when. This detailed interrelationship between the tasks to be completed and the resources necessary for the same ensures that the clinic is able to meet the standards on the right time without wastage of resources. In some instances, the consultants also help in the actual performance of some of the tasks.
The survey conducted consists of data gathering from many scopes of the facility's operation. For patient care, the data has to be gathered on issues such as assessment procedures, the care provision, patient education, and the patient rights. For the oxygen chamber, the data is gathered in areas including electrical installation, fabrication, ventilation, fire protection, and gas system.
For human resources, the data in regards to professional development, qualification, training, leadership and the numbers are considered. Other areas include research and development, teaching, publication, information management, and environmental sustainability.
The data gathered is then analyzed and if the clinic meets the standards, it gets accredited and can start enjoying the benefits that comes with it. The immediate benefits include the trust earned from insurance providers and increase number patients resulting from referral from physicians and practitioners. In the long run though, this translates to increased income and growth.
By definition, the accreditation is simply to ascertain that the hyperbaric oxygen therapy that the clinic offers if of industry standards. It also means that this clinic scores highly in patient satisfaction rate and practices evidence based medicine. This however does not come easy. There are stringent requirements set by the body that the facility has to meet to be accredited.
In order to ascertain this, the health care facility has to be surveyed by a team from the UHMS. In addition to above data, they have to gather data on training processes, the equipment operation and maintenance, and the safety standards in place.
For one reason or another, many clinics usually resort to seek help from professional consultants to be ready for the survey. Generally, the terms of reference mainly focuses on evaluating the clinic's current position and the level of conformity and nonconformity. These consultants offer insight in scope, the time, and the resources necessary for full conformity. However, they may extend their services to include steering the clinic in the process of conformity.
Ideally, there are a number of benefits that come from using a third party to guide the facility before the UHMS team come for the survey. They give a detailed report with the guideline of what should be done and when. This detailed interrelationship between the tasks to be completed and the resources necessary for the same ensures that the clinic is able to meet the standards on the right time without wastage of resources. In some instances, the consultants also help in the actual performance of some of the tasks.
The survey conducted consists of data gathering from many scopes of the facility's operation. For patient care, the data has to be gathered on issues such as assessment procedures, the care provision, patient education, and the patient rights. For the oxygen chamber, the data is gathered in areas including electrical installation, fabrication, ventilation, fire protection, and gas system.
For human resources, the data in regards to professional development, qualification, training, leadership and the numbers are considered. Other areas include research and development, teaching, publication, information management, and environmental sustainability.
The data gathered is then analyzed and if the clinic meets the standards, it gets accredited and can start enjoying the benefits that comes with it. The immediate benefits include the trust earned from insurance providers and increase number patients resulting from referral from physicians and practitioners. In the long run though, this translates to increased income and growth.
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