The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care published its 41st version of its Accreditation Handbook for Health Plans and the Accreditation Handbook for FEHB Health Plans, according to a Nov. 2 press release.
The updates include a moderate realignment of some standards based on the elimination of the "Clinical Records" and "Environment of Care" chapters, the release said. Some chapters were also consolidated.
Chapters have also been renumbered for consistency between the health plan and FEHB health plan handbooks, the release said.
"Whether pursuing accreditation to fulfill regulatory requirements or as a tool to elevate organizational performance and quality in your health plan, the new handbooks contain expert-guided updates in our Standards to provide a relevant resource for your quality improvement journey," Ira Cheifetz, DMD, AAAHC board chair, said in a statement. "The revised Standards uphold the AAAHC 1095 Strong, quality every day philosophy by driving excellence and survey readiness throughout the 1,095 days of the accreditation term."