What is HF Accreditation?

Heart Failure Accreditation by the Society of Chest Pain Centers

The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) inaugurated an accreditation process for the evaluation of heart failure care in hospitals across the country. To ensure that care provided meets or exceeds established quality measures, the focus is on improving the process of care of the decompensated heart failure patient.

Heart Failure Accreditation is promoted by SCPC as an operational model for patients across the heart failure continuum with specific emphasis on the care of the acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patient. The process of care begins with the onset of the patient's symptoms, and includes engagement of Emergency Dispatch Services, Emergency Medical Services and/or direct presentation to the hospital.  The care process continues with initial assessment and early risk stratification, expedited treatment, subsequent discharge from the Emergency Department, admission to an observation unit or inpatient status, and discharge from the facility into the community. Within this model, facilities can plan and organize the delivery of care in a systematic manner conducive to a process improvement and patient safety approach.

Heart Failure Accreditation was developed using the principles of process improvement science that are widely known and employed successfully in many disciplines. To improve patient outcomes, upstream care processes for all areas affecting patient care delivery must be thoroughly reviewed and evaluated.

The patient care delivery system most amenable to process improvement is the hospital. Hospitals feel the same pressures and derive the same successes from using process improvement tools as do more traditional businesses. Through the process improvement experience of Heart Failure Accreditation, participating facilities are left with more efficient, effective organizations that are better positioned to improve patient outcomes.

SCPC's approach to Heart Failure Accreditation is radically different from certification processes that set specifications and measure compliance. In contrast, SCPC's Accreditation Review Specialists take a collaborative approach by providing feedback, education and resources to assist the facility in addressing gaps and improving processes.

The Heart Failure Accreditation process begins with the Accreditation Tool, a document detailing the Key Elements critical to the decompensated patient with heart failure. The content of the Tool is derived from peer-reviewed literature, professional society guidelines and the body of clinical acumen of participating clinicians.

Based on the information obtained from the Accreditation Tool, a gap analysis is performed. This analysis is fundamental to creating an operational model that will include strategic planning, budgeting, clinical pathways, and education for facilities. The gap analysis serves a road map to improve processes for facilities.

Components of Heart Failure Accreditation

Accreditation is used by facilities that are committed to providing quality cardiac care to patients and currently have the resources available to do so. To earn accreditation status, facilities must meet or exceed a wide set of stringent criteria and then allow an on-site evaluation by members of the SCPC review team.

The ten areas in which a facility must demonstrate expertise include the following:

1. Emergency Department Integration with the Emergency Medical Services
2. Emergency Assessment of Patients with Symptoms of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure-Diagnosis
3. Risk Stratification of the Heart Failure Patient
4. Treatment for Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department in Acute Heart Failure
5. Acute Heart Failure Discharge Criteria from the Emergency Department, Observation Stay or Inpatient stay
6. Acute Heart Failure Patient Education in the Emergency Department, Observation and Inpatient Unit
7. Personnel, Competencies and Training
8. Process Improvement
9. Organizational Structure and Commitment
10. Heart Failure Community Outreach

Facilities that meet or exceed these criteria are assigned Heart Failure Accreditation.