2nd Medical Group aims for accreditation

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Amber Corcoran
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  The 2nd Medical Group will undergo a comprehensive survey on patient safety and quality patient care by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Dec. 10 through 12.

Accreditation is an external, independent review of a health care delivery organization against nationally-accepted standards and its own policies, procedures, processes and outcomes.

"AAAHC accreditation reassures our beneficiary population that the 2nd Medical Group is dedicated to a culture of patient safety and a focus on high quality care at the patient/provider level," said Col. Ender Ozgul, 2nd MDG commander.

According to the AAAHC website, more than 5,000 facilities have been accredited, including large and small private medical practices, community health centers and Air Force medical facilities.

"Just as our civilian counterparts, we are held to the same national standards," said Maj. Tanya Yelverton, 2nd Medical Support Squadron Medical Readiness flight commander and project officer for AAAHC. "We've held accreditation for several years by meeting nationally recognized standards of care and, every three years, we're reevaluated to hold our accreditation."

The survey is not an inspection- the process involves assuring compliance with published standards through an educational and consultative approach.

"Seven days prior to the survey, a Clinical Records Review list is sent to us with 41 examples of cases the surveyors would like to review," said Yelverton. "We'll pull records such as a pregnant active duty female, a male sexually transmitted infection, bronchitis and a female urinary tract infection. They want to know how the patient was treated and how we followed-up to make sure that standard of care was followed according to national standards."

Since the ultimate purpose of the accreditation process is to improve the quality of health care delivered by the organization, there's an emphasis on education and consultation.

"The surveyors identify opportunities to improve while surveying the clinic," Yelverton said. "They may say yes you're compliant in this but here's an idea we've seen in other facilities that work; whether that's having to identify where you're having the most patient complaints or preventing near misses, which is when a patient is almost given the wrong shot or medication but is caught before it happens. That's what they're here to do- to educate."

With the entire medical group involved in some way, from leadership from particular sections being interviewed, to 2nd MDG Airmen put on the spot with questions regarding patient safety and quality of care, the group commander is holding separate all-calls with the Airmen, NCOs, officers and civilians to talk about the upcoming survey.

"Col. Ozgul wanted to touch base with each level to make sure they understand what AAAHC is, what's expected of them and explaining how we treat the surveyors," Yelverton said. "His message was clear though, 'We practice patient safety and quality patient care every day.'"

While each category of review will be given particular compliance levels of substantial, partial, non-compliance and not applicable, the overall grade of the survey is either accreditation or none at all.

"We will do just fine- our providers, nurses, techs, Airmen and admin all do an excellent job every day, so I have no doubt we'll succeed yet again and get accredited with no issues," said Yelverton.