Today’s historic decision allows DNV to immediately begin deeming hospitals in compliance with the Medicare Conditions of Participation. 

 

As part of the CMS approval process, DNV’s accreditation program, called NIAHO^®, has been successfully implemented in multiple hospitals across the country demonstrating to US health authorities its effectiveness as well as DNV’s readiness to deliver its program nationally. 

 

“The entire market has reached a turning point,” says Yehuda Dror, president of DNV Healthcare Inc. “DNV’s NIAHO^® program represents a new accreditation option based on innovation and accountability. Now hospitals can choose to integrate proven quality systems into an annual accreditation process that is less complicated to administer. Based on its design and feedback from DNV’s currently accredited hospitals, we believe NIAHO^® will have a positive and measurable impact on patient safety, financial performance and the overall quality of healthcare services.” 

 

NIAHO^® encourages innovation within individual hospitals while helping them take advantage of system-wide best practices. It is the first hospital accreditation program in the United States that integrates the internationally recognized ISO 9001 Quality Management System with the Medicare Conditions of Participation, making it the first and only hospital accreditation program that requires continual quality improvement. 

 

NIAHO^® is the acronym for National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations. 

 

Atrium Medical Center, a 300-bed regional hospital in southwestern Ohio, was one of the first hospitals to deploy the new DNV NIAHO^® program. 

 

“We wanted an accreditation program that could help us take our quality programs to the next level,” says Robyn Myers, Director of Quality and Accreditation for Atrium Medical Center. “DNV NIAHO looks at every area of the hospital, not just clinical services. It’s a much more comprehensive approach.”