The Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP) is a national, independent,
U.S. not-for-profit
A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives.
While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...
accrediting body for community-based health care organizations. CHAP is the oldest national, community-based accrediting body with more than 9,000 agencies currently accredited nationwide.
History
In 1965, CHAP was the first to recognize the need and value for accreditation in community-based care. The organization was created as a joint venture between the
American Public Health Association
The American Public Health Association (APHA) is a Washington, D.C.–based professional membership and advocacy organization for public health professionals in the United States. APHA is the largest professional organization of public health pr ...
and the
National League for Nursing (NLN). CHAP became a separately incorporated, non-profit subsidiary of the NLN in 1988, under the CHAP name.
In 1992, CHAP was granted deeming authority for
home care
Homecare (home care, in-home care, care at home), also known as domiciliary care, personal care, community care, or social care, is health care or supportive care provided in the individual home where the patient or client is living, generally focu ...
by the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer ...
. In 1999 it received deeming authority for
hospices. CHAP has the regulatory authority to survey agencies providing home health, hospice, and home medical equipment services, to determine if they meet the Medicare Conditions of Participation and CMS Quality Standards.
Through "deeming authority" granted by the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer ...
(CMS), in 1992, CHAP has the regulatory authority to survey agencies providing home health, hospice, and
home medical equipment services to determine if they meet the
Medicare Conditions of Participation and CMS Quality Standards.
For context about CHAP's role, one could turn to how its accreditation function is considered quasi-voluntary. Here, although the accreditation appears to be voluntary, there is often a linked governmental regulation that encourages organizations and their programs to comply in the process. This is part of the move towards promoting common standards among health departments both on the state and national levels.
Today, the CHAP accreditation is recognized as the standard when determining the level of excellence in home care. Meeting CHAP's requirements is the same as satisfying the CMS standards.
See also
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Community Health
Community health refers to non-treatment based health services that are delivered outside Hospital, hospitals and Clinic, clinics. Community health is a subset of public health that is taught to and practiced by Clinician, clinicians as part of th ...
*
Community health centers in the United States
*
Hospital Accreditation
Hospital accreditation has been defined as “A self-assessment and external peer assessment process used by health care organizations to accurately assess their level of performance in relation to established standards and to implement ways to co ...
* Hospice Accreditation
*
International healthcare accreditation
Due to the near-universal desire for safe, effective, and high quality healthcare, there is a growing interest in international healthcare accreditation. Providing healthcare, especially of an adequate standard, is a complex and challenging proc ...
*
List of Healthcare Accreditation Organizations in the USA
References
External links
Official website*
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Healthcare accreditation organizations in the United States
Hospitals in the United States
Medicare and Medicaid (United States)