First Coast Service Options Inc has revised the requirements for the Florida Local Coverage Determination (LCD) #L29949 to accept Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) as a recognized accreditor of sleep labs. The revised requirements became effective on July 8, 2014.
The Florida LCD now accepts ACHC accreditation in addition to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and The Joint Commission. Accreditation by any of the three accreditation organizations applies to hospital and freestanding facilities (including sleep clinics that are part of a physician’s office), and all other non-hospital-based facilities where sleep studies are performed.
“ACHC is committed to offering a sleep accreditation program that facilitates the highest-quality of patient care through a consultative survey approach that assesses sleep providers based on industry-specific quality standards,” says ACHC director of DMEPOS, pharmacy, and sleep, Timothy Safley, MBA, RRT, RCP, in a release. “We are proud to be recognized in Florida and believe the decision will provide sleep centers with the option to choose the accreditation organization that best fits the specific needs of the sleep center and their patients.”
ACHC offers a patient-focused approach to sleep accreditation with standards that were developed with direct input from industry professionals to ensure that all requirements are relevant and realistic. In order to remain flexible to the needs of providers, ACHC’s sleep accreditation program offers standards for sleep labs and stand-alone home sleep testing services.
