About the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP)

The Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP) of the American Osteopathic Association has been providing medical facilities with an objective review of their services since 1945. The program is recognized nationally by the federal government, state governments, insurance carriers and managed care organizations.

An Invitation to Accreditation Excellence

The HFAP has been accrediting healthcare facilities for over 40 years under Medicare. It is one of only two voluntary accreditation programs in the United States authorized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly HCFA, to survey hospitals under Medicare. In addition, the program is a cost effective, user friendly means to validate the quality of care provided by a facility. If a healthcare facility is not accredited by the HFAP, its administrators should do themselves a favor and consider it.

History of the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP)

The HFAP accreditation program was developed in 1943 and 1944 and implemented in 1945. Under this program hospitals were surveyed each year. In this manner the AOA was able to assure that osteopathic students received their training through rotating internships and residencies in facilities which provided a high quality of patient care.

In 1965 Medicare and Medicaid were introduced and the American Osteopathic Association and the American Osteopathic Hospital Association applied to the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), now CMS, for deeming authority to survey hospitals under the Medicare Conditions of Participation.

In 1995 the HFAP applied for and received deeming authority to accredit laboratories within HFAP accredited hospitals under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA).

The HFAP has also developed accreditation requirements for ambulatory care/surgery, mental health, substance abuse, and physical rehabilitation medicine facilities.

HFAP Recognition

The HFAP program has been granted "Deeming Authority" to conduct accreditation surveys of acute care hospitals by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). (Section 1865 of the Social Security Act and implementing regulations 42 CFR 488.5.) This means that a hospital accredited by the HFAP is deemed to comply with the Medicare Conditions of Participation for Hospitals as published by CMS.

The HFAP program has been granted "Deeming Authority" from CMS to survey hospital laboratories under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 60, No. 140, page 37657, Friday, July 21, 1995.

The program is a recognized alternative to accreditation by CMS or The Joint Commission (TJL). The laboratory accreditation program is a recognized alternative to accreditation by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) or TJL. According to the National Committee for Quality Assurance, "NCQA does not require managed care organizations (MCOs) to accept specific accrediting bodies. An MCO makes the final determination about which accrediting bodies are acceptable." An MCO can decide to accept the HFAP as their preferred accrediting agency.