WHO WE ARE
The Behavioral Health Standards Organization was developed with input from healthcare providers within the behavioral health community, subject matter experts, consumers, and government agencies. After being reviewed and approved by their Board of Advisors, new standards can only be added if they contribute to patient safety & quality of care, have an impact on health outcomes, exceed laws/regulations, and can be quantified easily - these are the steps involved in standards development:
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• Finding new quality and safety issues that may require additional or modified requirements can be determined by reviewing scientific literature, and consulting with Behavioral Health Standards Organization advisory groups, accredited organizations, professional associations, consumer organizations, and other groups.
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• The Behavioral Health Standards Organization develops draft standards by consulting with technical advisory boards, experts, focus groups, and other stakeholders.
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• These draft standards have been distributed to all states for review and can be viewed on the Standards Review page of the Behavioral Health Standards Organization website. Once any necessary modifications have been made, executive leadership approves them for adoption.
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• Pilot testing of the survey process is conducted to verify it meets the new standards.
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• Surveyors have been trained on how to assess conformance with these new requirements, and these standards have now been approved for field use.
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• Once a standard has been set, ongoing feedback is sought to refine it further.
STANDARDS?
Who are we? Where did we come from? Why are we here?
WHO ARE WE?
We are an isolated few in the Behavioral Health Community a little concerned about quality of care, and ethics. Many of us have well over 30+ years experience in the substance abuse / mental illness industry.
WHERE DID WE COME FROM?
We are providers and practitioners. Some of us are advocates. Others are Attorneys, Judges, District Attorneys, Law Enforcement Professionals.
We formed this organization to set higher standards for an industry that historically doesn't necessarily require state licensure or a college degree, a certification. For many their only qualification is having recovered.
WHY ARE WE HERE?
We are here because of a lack of cohesion and standardization. When we all use the same rules and codes of ethics then every patient is treated with the same level of care. We aren't about providing a minimum of care standards but the highest in care standards.
WHAT WE DO
We set high standards.
Organizations like The Joint Commission, College of American Pathologists, Global Clinic Rating, American Association For Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities,Inc. and CARF focus on healthcare facilities of all types, whereas we focus solely on behavioral health facilities, programs and professionals.
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We have adopted practices and methods from ISO™ International Standards Organization to develop an accreditation model that surpasses "the gold standard", by raising the bar.