CAMTS Accreditation for MIH programs can open new doors, while also serving as a strong self-check for your team’s performance. Essentially, consider the Commission on Accreditation for Medical Transport (CAMTS) a roadmap that lays out the benchmarks of a successful community paramedic program. This article digs into the steps to achieving CAMTs accreditation for your MIH program.
To become a CAMTs Accredited Mobile Integrated Health-Community Paramedic Program (MIH-CP), you need to start by familiarizing yourself with the application process. This means reviewing their Accreditation Standards, submitting the initial application and the program information form (PIF), and choosing a review window for consideration. By the end of this article, you will have the confidence to take the following steps toward achieving CAMTs accreditation for your program.
The Steps to Getting Your MIH-CP Programs CAMTs Accredited
Different areas may have various reasons for seeking CAMTs accreditation. For some programs, it may be a requirement enforced by governing bodies. For others, CAMT’s accreditation may smooth the path toward long-term funding.
Still others will find that CAMT’s accreditation opens doors for partnerships, which can go a long way toward achieving sustainability.
With all that said, most of you reading this will know why you need to get CAMTs accredited; the real question is: how? So, let’s go ahead and talk about it.
Here are the steps to achieving CAMTs Accreditation for your MIH Program:
- Know Where Your Program is At and Use CAMT’s Standards as a Guide
- Review and implement the CAMTs Standards for Your MIH Team
- Send In Your Initial CAMTs application and Follow the Process
Those are the general steps. In the following few sections, we’ll also give you the sub-steps, or some of the steps within the steps.
Know Where Your MIH Program Stands: Use CAMTs Standards as a Guide
There are two main steps you need to take to achieve CAMTs accreditation for your MIH program. First, you have to ensure you comply with their standards. Second, you need to apply to have them review your program. It’s that simple.
However, as you might suspect, nothing that is “that simple” is really that simple. With these two steps in mind, we will focus a good deal of our guide on breaking down 1) how to comply and 2) how to apply for accreditation.
While we admit this two-step process might be called an “oversimplification,” the goal at this stage is to avoid being overwhelmed by the process. While there is a time and place for giant leaps, taking small steps toward a big goal is often the way to get there without burning out.
Now would be a good time to review the CAMTs accreditation guidelines. Take a moment to mark down the things that you have and have not accomplished. Prepare to take a few months to get some of this stuff in place and realize that a good MIH program is all about playing the long game.
Review and Implement CAMTs Standards for Your MIH Team
The CAMTs Accreditation Guidelines Handbook will act as a checklist as you pursue CAMTs. With that said, this guide is about 75 pages long, so our goal here will be to summarize it in a manageable way.
Yes, it’s a long document (and we indeed suggest you read it carefully), but its guidelines are broken into four key sections.
Here are the four main sections within the accreditation standards for CAMTs:
- Management and Staffing
- Quality Management
- Patient Care
- Vehicle Operations
Let’s look at each of these in more detail.
Management and Staffing for CAMTs Accreditation
Under the Management and Staffing section, CAMTs will review nine areas to ensure your MIH program meets their standards. These nine areas relate to the general business needs of your MIH program.
You will find guidelines that require a clear mission statement and scope of practice, evidence of needs assessment, financial commitment from administration, marketing, and education of the community, as well as evidence of ethical business practices training and compliance.
Under this section, they will also review your staffing, evidence of your employees’ well-being, and precise record-keeping for meetings.
The Management and Staffing section underscores the importance of ensuring that your MIH program is not just providing good care but is also a sound business.
Quality Management for CAMTs Accreditation
The next thing you’ll find is guidelines related to Quality Management. Under this umbrella, you have about six benchmarks that CAMTs will consider when deciding whether to grant accreditation.
They will ensure that you have adequate quality and utilization management practices and close safety management, including regular training. Within this section, they will also want evidence of PAIPs or post-accident/incident plans.
Patient Care for CAMTs Accreditation
On the patient care side, there are seven key factors that CAMTs consider when evaluating accreditation for MIH programs. First, they want to ensure that you have the right people working for you and that they are appropriately licensed and trained.
Second, they will look at your medical director. Is that person involved? Are they qualified to manage an MIH program? Third, they will want to see clear management for clinical care, ensuring that your program is structured to provide professional oversight to all patient care.
Finally, they will see if you have strong continuing education and clinical orientation, as well as a robust infection control and prevention program.
Vehicle Operations for CAMTs Accreditation
We know that Mobile Integrated Healthcare is “Mobile,” which means programs must have reliable vehicles. That’s why the last part of the CAMTs Accreditation Guidelines includes five points they look at for vehicle operations.
A few of these points include checking that the equipment is properly maintained, ensuring the vehicle operator is adequately trained, and ensuring that regular maintenance is performed on the vehicle.
As you’ve seen, there are quite a few points that they look at over all four sections. The good news is that, in all likelihood, you’re already compliant in most areas. With this in mind, instead of becoming overwhelmed by the process, review the document and mark off the places where you may need more work.
Send In Your Initial CAMTs application and Follow the Process
The second step in the process involves submitting your application. The CAMTs MIH application form outlines several distinct steps that must be completed before you are granted accreditation for your program. We go over them below.
We should emphasize that ensuring your program complies before applying is in your best interest. While you will have a little bit of time after you apply to make corrections to your program, you’ll need to have good data to prove that your program is adhering to the standards.
Here are the steps to the CAMTS accreditation application:
- Complete the initial application: This step will ask for general information about your program. The address, who is the manager, how many full-time employees, etc.
- Pay the application fee: This fee is currently set at one thousand dollars and will need to be submitted up front.
- They will send you the Program Information Form (PIF) by email: this will take place after the fee has been paid.
- 4/5 You have one year to complete the PIF: add all the necessary documents to this form. They give you time to complete it, but you don’t have forever.
- Schedule and Complete the Site Visit: This will take place about a month after you have sent in the completed PIF for their review. Someone will visit your location to check for compliance.
- Finally, an accreditation decision will be made: These decisions take place three times per year, and there is a due date if you want your program to be reviewed during a specific time frame. Currently, if you want your program reviewed at the summer meeting, you must submit your completed PIF by January 15th.
Let’s go over a few final points.
