PHAB Accreditation: How to Simplify Your Document Submission During Your Application Process

For healthcare organizations, undertaking the PHAB accreditation process is a big endeavor. It’s a complex journey that requires a lot of hard work and commitment, but the payoff is earning a coveted designation that helps facilities grow and improve.

We previously wrote about the overall PHAB accreditation process, but wanted to spend more time breaking down what many consider to be the most demanding of the seven steps: Step 3, Document Selection and Submission.

Putting Technology In Play For PHAB Document Selection & Submission

After a health department’s application is approved by PHAB, the organization has up to one year to submit the required documentation to prove conformity with each of PHAB’s standards and measures.

This third step is unquestionably one of the most time-consuming and critical parts of the process—it’s often at this point that organizations get a gut check as to whether they’re ready to take on PHAB accreditation.

To get (and stay) organized with the PHAB document selection and submission process, you’ll need technology that’s built to handle these exact types of functions. For example:

1. Many of PHAB’s accreditation requirements state that organizations must demonstrate continuous data tracking and data-driven decision making. It’s clearly unrealistic for this to be a manual process. You need software that not only tracks your data as required, but also creates the documentation needed as proof of compliance with different measures.
2. PHAB also mandates that documentation adhere to standard formatting. Technology can streamline the process and save you from reinventing the wheel for each document. You need a system that can create any format for one domain, standard, and measure, and then duplicate it across your account.
3. Once you’ve tracked and collected data, you need a system that makes it simple to compile all the required information into a single report. It should just take a few clicks to pull together the domains, standards, and measures you need for your complete documentation packet to meet accreditation requirements.
4. When you hit the five-year mark and need to apply for PHAB reaccreditation, you don’t want to start from scratch. Software can “remember” the formatting, descriptions, and proofs from the first round of accreditation, allowing you to simply update the data to be ready to reapply.

ClearPoint’s system has helped many organizations manage the complexities of PHAB accreditation, with great success. Below, we’ve summarized how our platform can support you and make the PHAB’s document selection and submission process easier.

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How ClearPoint Strategy Helps Simplify PHAB Document Selection & Submission

1. Tracking & using data

Tracking and using data relates to these two PHAB accreditation standards:

• Standard 1.2: “Collect and maintain reliable, comparable, and valid data that provide information on conditions of public health importance and on the health status of the population.”It’s simple and much more realistic to track and create proof of data when you use one system for everything. ClearPoint makes data collection and maintenance easy with multiple options for automatic data uploads and a user-friendly interface.

• Standard 1.3: “Analyze public health data to identify trends in health problems, environmental public health hazards, and social and economic factors that affect the public’s health.”With ClearPoint, it’s easy to identify trends and analyze linkages with potential mitigating factors. You can build custom dashboards like the one below showing trend data:

• This data can easily be pulled into a report to not only prove you met this standard, but also that you’re using the information to make data-driven decisions. Plus, you can use dashboards to track the actual initiative of reaccreditation with dashboards in ClearPoint.

If you’re currently managing your data in Excel, don’t worry. With ClearPoint’s Data Loader, you can upload information you’re already tracking into our system and streamline your reporting instantly. Moving data from Excel into ClearPoint also solves any version control issues or formatting headaches you’ve had previously. ClearPoint serves as your master knowledge base, and building professional-looking reports takes just a few clicks.

2. Creating standard formats

PHAB specifies the format it wants organizations to use for each domain, standard, and measure page. Without a quick way to create and duplicate these formats, you could spend long hours trying to structure these detail pages correctly. ClearPoint provides that easy solution. With user-friendly drag-and-drop functionality, you can quickly build a page for each domain, standard, and measure, and then pull them into any report as needed.

These pages are interactive and allow you to drill down to get more detail. You also have the ability to upload attachments, which makes it simple to track other collateral that must be included as proof of meeting a requirement. For example, you can replicate detail pages for reports easily in ClearPoint like this:

• Domain:

• Standard:

• Measure:

*See enlarged images and how the drill-down functionality works in this HTML report.

If you need to duplicate a page for another standard or even for reaccreditation, it’s effortless. Any layouts you create in ClearPoint can be standardized so you don’t have to build each page from scratch, but rather can have the fields ready to be filled in on each page.

3. Compiling information

As you navigate all of PHAB’s accreditation requirements, you’ll need to pull information together in various reports. If reporting is complex and time consuming, it makes your accreditation goal all that much harder.

With ClearPoint, you can create a report for the actual accreditation process, but also reports that are required to fulfill the standards and measures. For example, Measure 1.3.2 states, “Provide statewide public health data to various audiences on a variety of public health issues at least annually.”

ClearPoint’s easy report generation allows you to create briefing books and web-based HTML reports that can be customized to suit different audiences. Reports, dashboards, and other relevant information can be easily distributed to internal teams or published externally. Reporting is smooth and painless, allowing you to focus on sharing the information versus pulling it all together.

4. Getting reaccredited

PHAB accreditation is a long, involved process and it may seem like no time has passed at all when it comes time to reapply. With ClearPoint, the reaccreditation process you’ll initiate every five years is much, much easier because all your framework, formats, and templates have been preserved. The detail pages you need are already set up, and you simply need to add the latest data, which you’re likely already collecting in ClearPoint to meet the “continuous data tracking” requirement.

The PHAB accreditation process is difficult for good reason—healthcare facilities must demonstrate dedication and professionalism to achieve this designation, which ultimately contributes to advancing their quality and performance overall.

ClearPoint’s strategy software can help every step of the way, particularly with the pivotal document selection and submission process. For more information or to see a demo, contact us.

Accelerate Your PHAB Accreditation with ClearPoint Strategy

Ready to transform the way you handle PHAB accreditation? ClearPoint Strategy is your essential tool for simplifying every step of the document submission process. Our intuitive platform streamlines data tracking, document creation, and report generation, enabling you to meet PHAB standards with ease and confidence. Book a free demo of ClearPoint Strategy today and discover how our solution can make your accreditation process smoother and more efficient.

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FAQ:

What is PHAB accreditation?

PHAB accreditation is a recognition granted by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) to public health departments that meet rigorous standards of quality and performance. This accreditation demonstrates that a health department is committed to continuous improvement and accountability, ensuring that it delivers high-quality public health services to its community.

What are PHAB domains and standards?

PHAB domains and standards are a set of guidelines established by the Public Health Accreditation Board to evaluate and improve the performance of public health departments.

- Domains: There are 12 domains encompassing the essential services provided by public health departments, such as monitoring health status, diagnosing health problems, informing and educating about health issues, and enforcing laws that protect health.
-Standards: Each domain has associated standards that provide a framework for public health departments to achieve high performance and continuous improvement. These standards outline specific actions and measures that departments must meet to be accredited.

What is a PHAB assessment?

A PHAB assessment is a comprehensive evaluation process conducted by the Public Health Accreditation Board to determine whether a public health department meets the established domains and standards. The assessment involves:

- Self-Assessment: The health department conducts an internal review against PHAB standards and prepares documentation.
- Site Visit: PHAB-appointed reviewers visit the department to verify documentation, interview staff, and observe operations.
- Final Review: PHAB reviews the findings from the site visit and the submitted documentation to make an accreditation decision.

What does a PHAB test show?

A PHAB test, within the context of the Public Health Accreditation Board, refers to the comprehensive assessment process that evaluates a public health department's performance against established standards. The test shows whether the department meets the criteria for accreditation, indicating its commitment to quality, accountability, and continuous improvement in public health services.

What does PHAB stand for?

PHAB stands for Public Health Accreditation Board. It is a nonprofit organization that develops and oversees the national accreditation program for public health departments in the United States.