Preparing for Facility Accreditation

Facility accreditation verifies that your business meets standards established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). To become accredited by BOC, you will begin by completing an application attesting to your compliance with the BOC Facility Accreditation Standards, which encompass CMS requirements and include additional standards that we have determined essential to provide quality service to patients and beneficiaries. Your compliance will be confirmed by a BOC representative during an unannounced visit to
your facility, often referred to as a site survey.

BOC’s facility accreditation process is designed to be as straightforward as possible, but it does require careful preparation on your part. Please carefully review each of the preparation activities below before completing your application.

Review facility accreditation standards.

Think of these standards as “prerequisites” for applying. Our standards are comprehensive, because they have been developed to include criteria based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) standards, as well as additional business practices that improve patient care and increase efficiency. The site survey conducted by BOC will be scored based on your compliance with these standards.

For more details on CMS standards, please review the following:

• CMS Quality Standards, available on the CMS website.
• CMS DMEPOS Supplier Standards, as defined by the Code of Federal Regulations.
  • A condensed version of the CMS DMEPOS Supplier Standards is also available.
  • The Medicare Enrollment Application also provides the CMS Supplier Standards in an abbreviated format (see page 36).

Click on the image above to view a video on the process of accreditation.

Review the BOC facility accreditation process.

Approach and prepare for your accreditation with care. First watch The Process of Accreditation video and review the BOC Accreditation Standards Guide. Then gather all of the information you will need to proceed.

Complete and submit the facility accreditation application.

Complete and submit the facility accreditation application. Decide whether your facility is ready to be surveyed today. BOC may schedule your site survey anytime after we receive your application. CMS requires that site surveys are unannounced, so you need to be prepared to be surveyed anytime after submitting your application. By signing and submitting the accreditation application, you are confirming that you believe your facility is in compliance with BOC’s accreditation standards as of your application date. A BOC site surveyor will verify your compliance at the time of the site survey.

My attempt to reword/wsm Complete and submit the facility accreditation application. Decide whether your facility is ready to be surveyed today. BOC may schedule your site survey anytime after we receive your application. CMS requires that site surveys are unannounced, so you need to be prepared to be surveyed anytime after submitting your application. By initialing each standardsigning and submitting the accreditation application, you are confirming that you believe your facility is in compliance with BOC’s accreditation standards as of your application date. A BOC site surveyor will verify your compliance at the time of the site survey. Save Changes Cancel Delete

Click on the image above to view a video on the preparation for your site survey.

Prepare for your site survey.

In the site survey process, your role is key. Be sure that you and your staff know what to expect. Because site surveys cannot be scheduled, many facilities find it useful to explain to staff ahead of time that an inspection will occur. A BOC site surveyor will need the assistance of you or your staff to verify your facilities compliance with standards and requirements for product categories. For more information on what to expect from your site survey, please see our accreditation process page.

How your accreditation status is determined.

The accreditation staff works as a team to perform a comprehensive review of your compliance with BOC standards. Once your application and documentation are reviewed by our in-house staff, a site surveyor will be assigned to visit your facility and verify that you are compliant with BOC standards and product categories as indicated on your application. Site inspection involves looking at the physical layout of your facility as well as reviewing your business practices and patient care processes. Our accreditation staff then reviews the survey findings and issues an accreditation status for your facility.

For more details regarding how your facility will be surveyed, please review the accreditation process page.

Our best advice is to be prepared. The more time you put into preparing for your facility accreditation, the smoother and easier your accreditation process will go.

Have questions?

For more information on how standards or product category criteria apply to your facility, please consult the FAQs section of this website or contact us for interpretation of any standard in question.