If your practice provides Durable Medical Equipment, such as canes, walkers, crutches, wheelchairs, diabetic supplies, oxygen and related services to Medicare beneficiaries, you need to be accredited for those specific product categories. Please note: These accreditations are not "stand alone" accreditations. The organization seeking either of these types of accreditations must be eligible for, seek and obtain accreditation in one of our primary accreditation offerings
These accreditations are designed for those businesses that provide certain DME products and services to their O&P patients.
If you provide respiratory oxygen services (including BiPAPs or nebulizers), supply any type of rental items, or provide Group 3 or 4 wheelchairs or Group 2 wheelchairs with seating systems or modifications, you need the DME program.
All other DME items not referenced above are covered under the AAD accreditation, including but not limited to blood glucose monitoring, TENS, Scooters, CPMs, Canes, Walkers, and Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulator devices.
ABC durable medical equipment accreditation standards and ancillary assistive device accreditation standards create a baseline for minimal expectations of the physical enviroment and organizational function of DME & AAD patient care locations. Understanding the accreditation standars is the first step to compliance, as accreditation decisions are based on the degree of conformity with the standards.
Standards are grouped into five categories and each of the categories contains multiple standards unique to the specific level of accreditation.
The five categories are:
Organizational (OR)-Those standards relating to the organization's legal status, governance and administrative structure.
Patient Care (PC)-Those standards designed to support the delivery of high quality patient care and to ensure that patient needs are met.
Performance Management (PM)-Those standards relating to the applicant organization's policies and procedures to assess and improve the delivery of patient care services.
Facility Safety (FS)-Those standards relating to the physical locations of patient care.
Supplier Compliance (SC)-Those standards designed to evaluate the applicant organizations' compliance with the requirements of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Prior to applying for accreditation, organizations should read and review the appropriate accreditation standards manual and evaluate organizational compliance with the standards. It is the responsibility of the applicant organization to be in compliance with the standards prior to applying for accreditation.
Applicant organizations must apply for ABC accreditation for all of the services it provides. This requirement extends only to those services for which ABC offers accreditation.
Applications for accreditation can be downloaded in the 'Accreditation' box in the above right hand corner of this page. Upon completion of the application please mail to: PO Box 34862, Alexandria, VA 22334-0862. Please note overnight services such as UPS and FedEx do not deliver to PO Boxes.
Affordable accreditation is important for business owners and ABC's program is designed to be cost effective. As a not-for-profit organization, we strive to keep our costs contained and operate as efficiently as possible. This allows ABC to keep application and renewal fees low, especially when compared with other accrediting organizations.
Accredited Facilities have earned the right to display the ABC Accredited Facility Logo. Please contact Tammi Richards at trichards@abcop.org to obtain a logo.
If you have questions or need more information about the Facility Accreditation program, contact
Christine MichaelAccreditation Coordinatorcmichael@abcop.org(703) 836-7114 x 250
Carolyn WrightStandards and Compliance Specialistcwright@abcop.org(703) 836-7114 x 248
Chrissy HeckenbergDirector, Facility Accreditationcheckenberg@abcop.org(703) 836-7114 x 223
Tammi RichardsManager, Facility Accreditationtrichards@abcop.org(703) 836-7114 x 230
Pat LewisFacility Accreditation Assistantplewis@abcop.org(703) 836-7114 x 247
Kyle SinsFacility Accreditation Assistantksins@abcop.org(703) 836-7114 x 200
Paolo AstorgaFacility Accreditation Assistantpastorga@abcop.org(703) 836-7114 x 205