Accreditation and Certification in the Health Care Industry

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5. Discuss the difference between accreditation and certification. Discuss why a health plan may or may not participate in a voluntary accreditation program.

In the health industry, accreditation and certification are related but not interchangeable. Certification is a particular set of skills up to an established criterion that a certified individual should have the competence to perform. In most cases, certification includes testing; however certification can also include or be based on education and experience alone. (Roat, 2006) .On the other hand, accreditation is usually earned and applied to an entire organization instead of individuals. Within an accredited organization, certified individuals and programs may be present.

However, certification can become problematic when it excludes individuals who are competent but poor test takers which can be similar for accreditation, as a result, some health plans may or may not voluntary participate in accreditation programs .When organizations become accredited there is potential to “improve organizational performance, quality of care, safety standards and consumer satisfaction” (Braithwaite, 2011). In addition, Braithwaite (2011) suggests that accreditation programs can promote change in the standardization of services and organizational process (p.3); however there are not much evidence supports these findings. In addition, accreditation programs usually give the seal of approvals so voluntary participation can backfire on an organization because particular things may be overlooked or focused on causing some type of consequence such as probation or even worse loss of accreditation.

6. What is statutory accounting? What are a few of the key differences between statutory...

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Varadan, S. (n.d). What are the differences between statutory accounting principles and GAAP? Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_4884642_between-statutory-accounting-principles-gaap.html

Acharya, V., Biggs, J., Richardson, M., & Ryan, S. (2009). On the financial regulation of insurance companies. Retrieved from http://www-vs.stern.nyu.edu/cons/groups/content/documents/document/con_030706.pdf

Braithwaite, J., Westbrook, J., Johnston, B., Clark, S., Brandon, M., Banks, M., & ... Moldovan, M. (2011). Strengthening organizational performance through accreditation research-a framework for twelve interrelated studies: the ACCREDIT project study protocol. BMC Research Notes, 4390.

Roat, C., (2006) Certification of Health care interpreters in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.calendow.org/uploadedFiles/certification_of_health_care_interpretors.pdf

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