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The University Medical Group (UMG) has become the first academic multispecialty practice in the Midwest and the second in the United States to earn accreditation from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). The only other academic multispecialty practice accredited by the AAAHC is affiliated with Stanford University. The accreditation means the UMG has met nationally recognized standards for quality health care set by the Chicago-based organization.
"Typically a new institution is accredited for six months to a year, but we were pleased to receive a full three years," said Robert Heaney, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine and chairman of the UMG's accreditation task force.
The AAAHC is a private, non-governmental, non-profit organization that helps ambulatory health care organizations improve the quality of care they provide to their patients. The AAAHC has accredited more than 500 ambulatory health care organizations but only two academic multispecialty groups. Accreditation is voluntary, but John Burke, executive director of the AAAHC, said it gives organizations an extra boost in dealing with managed care companies.
"Accreditation is at the top of the list of things MCOs seek in organizations with whom they contract," Burke said. "Organizations that achieve accreditation status have done their homework."
Heaney said the UMG began doing its homework more than three years ago in an effort to win the AAAHC's stamp of approval.
"We knew we had rigid internal standards but we wanted to test our ambulatory care against the strictest external standards we could find," Heaney said. "We thought accreditation was one of the best ways to review our overall organization to make certain we were meeting our patient's expectations. In addition, thanks to the farsightedness of our medical school administration, it was perceived that we would need this level of accreditation at some point in the future so rather than wait for a crisis, we forged ahead."
In California and Florida, for example, ambulatory care practices accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) or the AAAHC are those allowed to provide services to Medicare patients. Heaney pointed out that such regulations have a tendency to work their way in from the coasts and could be nationwide in the future.
Members of the AAAHC accreditation committee made their site visit with the UMG in March. Reportedly, they were impressed with the commitment across the board from the Health Sciences Center, the University Hospital and the UMG to the quality of patient care. Members also cited the group's physician credentialing and privileging process as among the best in the country.
"What's special about the UMG is that it truly is a team effort," said Dr. Homer G. Schmitz, executive director of the UMG. "Many medical groups in partnerships with academic centers can appear fragmented. Yet in spite of the fact that the UMG includes 14 different departments and has clinicians spread throughout seven major practice sites, we achieved and demonstrated a unity of purpose."
"The accreditation process has been tremendously helpful to the 300-plus physicians in our multispecialty practice," Heaney said. "Saint Louis University Hospital has a long history of excellent service and has achieved the highest levels of recognition. AAAHC accreditation of the UMG demonstrates we are an equal partner with sound footing. I believe partnerships work best when the groups coming together are strong in their own right."
Despite the accreditation victory, Heaney said the UMG has no intention of resting on its laurels. He said the group continues to work on improving its medical records system and is tracking hospital-acquired infections to keep the rate low. In addition, he said the UMG is examining patient advance directives and practices for prescribing pain medications.