The Benefits A Clinic Miss For Not Having The UHMS Accreditation

By Janine Hughes


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.

The accreditation processes is not very easy; the facilities have to meet stringent standards set by the body, and provide data to prove their conformity with the set requirements. The data to be provided focuses on policies and procedure, hyperbaric medicine quality offered, and patient safety and outcomes.

The UHMS team is sent to conduct a survey and collect data that proves that the facility meet the set standards. The data collected focuses on all areas of medical provision such as the policies and procedures in place, the quality of hyperbaric therapy offered, the safety stands, treatment outcome level of satisfaction among others.

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.

The decision to employ consultants comes with several other benefits that come with it. The consultants will come up with a report that details the tasks that are necessary for conformance and an estimation of resources required for this purpose. Secondly, the consultant should establish relationship and dependencies in these tasks to ensure that there is order in undertaking 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.

Although the process might be costly in the beginning, the cost benefit analysis proves that it is a very profitable investment. It means more referral from practitioners which in turn increase the caseload. It ensures that reimbursement from insurers is prompt with no questions. It is the way to ensure that the hospital remains in business.




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