Request for Membership Response to Proposed Revisions to the ASHI Standards
To: ASHI Members
From: QAS Committee
Re: Proposed Revisions to the ASHI Standards
Public Comment Period Deadline: Friday, August 27, 2010
Dear ASHI Members:
The Quality Assurance and Standards Committee (QAS) has been working on updates to the ASHI Standards. We propose a new definition and two new standards suggested by partner organizations and working groups. In addition, revisions brought to our attention by other ASHI Committees and ASHI members are among the changes.
These proposed changes to the Standards have been submitted to the ASHI Board and the Accreditation Review Board (ARB) for review and comment. Now we seek your comments and suggestions.
For your convenience, the redline version of the proposed 2010 Standards will allow you to quickly identify changes. In addition, the document entitled "2010 changes to 2009 Standards" provides a side-by-side comparison of the standards which are proposed for change as well as an explanation for each change. Please carefully consider these proposed revisions to the current standards and send your comments to Kathy Miranda at ASHI Headquarters () no later than August 27, 2010.
QAS will respond to all comments received during the public comment period. Implementation of revisions to the standards will be delayed this cycle because ASHI is currently engaged in the renewal process for deemed status by CMS. During the review period, no changes can be made to the ASHI Standards. It is anticipated that the current round of revisions will become effective after April 2011.
Please remember that the QAS Committee has certain constraints when responding to your comments. There are two that are noteworthy. First, the proposed standards may not be made more stringent based upon membership comments without a subsequent round of public comment; therefore, such comments will be deferred until the next round of revisions unless the comments are of extraordinary importance. Second, all ASHI Standards must be at least as stringent as the CMS (CLIA) regulations; therefore, proposals that advocate lesser stringency cannot be considered.
QAS has worked together to get the proposal to this point, now we need your input. All comments received will be addressed by QAS and our responses will be posted on the ASHI website late this year. We are most appreciative of your participation in the continuous improvement process for the ASHI Standards. Thank you in advance for your time.
Sincerely,
Dawn Wagenknecht, MS, CHS, QAS Co-Chair
Cynthia Taves, Ph.D., D(ABHI), QAS Co-Chair
ATTACHMENTS FOR REVIEW
1. Proposed 2010 Standards (redline)
2. 2010 Changes to 2009 Standards (master)
If you have newsworthy information to add to the ASHI Web site, please contact kmiranda@ahint.com for consideration.