There has been a recommendation come out of one of the task forces formed to precipitate the integration of the Mental Hygiene Administration and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration that is surely causing apoplexy for Community Behavioral Health Association members. The Regulation task force has recommended that regulations for mental health and substance abuse providers be scrapped in lieu of mandating that providers secure accrediting from national accrediting bodies like CARF or JCAHO.
A mandate was proposed fifteen years or so ago and CBH fought it because members were afraid of the costs of getting accredited. The state backed off (unfortunately) and only a three or four mental health agencies actually moved forward with accreditation. The dearth of accreditted organizations in Maryland should be an embarrassment to the system but nobody has seemed to mind, even when systems as fragile as North Carolina has mandated accreditation.
A lack of a mandate certainly has been part of the reason ford Maryland's mental health system's mediocrity.
If the decision to mandate accreditation succeeds it will have the following positive effects:
- The Office of Health Care Quality will be able to focus on complaints, incidents, emergent quality of care issues instead of routine regulatory reviews of providers.
- Providers will be held to significantly higher quality of scrutiny by external accrediting organizations.
- There will be more focus on clinical and rehabilitation outcomes rather than process.
- There will be an intensive focus on continuous quality improvement that will benefit persons served.
- Important advocacy issues like the ongoing moratorium on the development of affordable housing will be revealed to external surveyors, hopefully, prompting change.
But CBH members must be shaking in their boots at the possibility. Will CBH make another run at promoting mediocrity by opposing an accreditation mandate?
We will see, but all I can do right now is LMAO!
