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AAAHC releases revisions to 2006 accreditation standards

Ambulatory Safety Monitor, December 15, 2005

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The Accreditation Association of Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) has issued revisions to its standards for 2006, with anesthesia services and dental services receiving the most attention.

The revisions will be incorporated into the 2006 version of the AAAHC Accreditation Handbook for Ambulatory Health Care and will take effect in March 2006.

The major change in Chapter 9, "Anesthesia Services," is the addition of a new standard. It requires organizations providing sedative, hypnotic, or analgesic drugs that do not have an antagonist medication, such as propofol, to identify who in the organization is privileged to administer these drugs. The organization is also required to have a written protocol of how it will respond in the event that a deeper-than-intended level of anesthesia occurs.

Chapter 12, "Dental Services," underwent a number of changes intended to bring it more in line with some of the other adjunct standards. The chapter was expanded to include standards requiring governing body approval of procedures performed, qualifications of personnel assisting in the provision of dental services, and development of policies and procedures related to the identification, treatment, and management of pain.

Other chapters seeing changes include Chapter 4, "Quality of Care," Chapter 8, "Facilities and Environment," and Chapter 15, "Pharmaceutical Services." These chapters saw sub-elements of existing standards elevated to full standards.

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