What does advanced certification in heart failure require?
Structure
Organizations must comply with Joint Commission standards for disease-specific care, (Manual available on the JCR Web site.) and the appendix for Advanced Certification in Heart Failure.
The heart failure program must include either a hospital-based and hospital-owned outpatient heart failure clinic, OR have a collaborative relationship with one or more attending cardiology practices.
Disease-specific Care standards cover the following categories:
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Program management
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Clinical information management
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Delivering or facilitating clinical care
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Supporting self-management
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Measuring and improving performance.
Process
Advanced Certification in Heart Failure requires the use of Get With The Guidelines.
Organizations are eligible for this advanced certification program with Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure Bronze Level performance or higher.
Outcome
A commitment to continuous improvement is essential. Advanced Certification in Heart Failure requires that a program collect data on standardized performance measures and use this information for ongoing performance improvement efforts.
Criteria developed in collaboration with the American Heart Association.