The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) is introducing a new service-based accreditation model and updated Standards for Accreditation, which will take effect in January 2025. Based on feedback from members and accredited programs, this accreditation model provides greater flexibility to accommodate all practice types, making it easier to manage, add, and remove accredited services. Changes to the Standards for Accreditation were also made to remove barriers and promote administrative and operational efficiencies in sleep practice management.
We are confident these changes will help AASM accreditation remain the best value and the gold standard for sleep care.
Your accreditation, your choices
You spoke, and we listened. You asked for an accreditation model that minimizes redundancy, allows flexibility, and reflects shared relationships between programs and services. The service-based model of AASM accreditation delivers. It offers unparalleled agility in managing the accreditation of your services and the ability to evolve and succeed in a competitive environment.
Here are some of the notable changes:
1. Service-based focus
The service-based model accredits the services provided (i.e., sleep clinic, in-lab sleep studies, home sleep apnea tests, durable medical equipment) and groups those that operate under the same policies and procedures into a network. Accrediting each service within a network allows modular flexibility to mix and match or add and remove services, as long as the minimum relationships required for accreditation are met. For example, the model enables multiple clinics to be associated with one lab in the same network.
2. Realigned standards
The AASM Standards for Accreditation have been realigned to reflect this model and enhance the efficiency of a sleep network. For example, quality assurance is now a network standard, allowing a network with multiple sites to report a single quality assurance program. A network with multiple sleep lab locations will now be able to have a single inter-scorer reliability program.
3. Streamlined fees
Accreditation fees also have been streamlined to reflect the service-based model, so you will only pay for the services you offer. We’ve also separated accreditation fees from membership status, simplifying the fee structure and giving every program access to the best pricing. The AASM accreditation term will continue to be 5 years, making AASM accreditation a better long-term value than the 3-year term offered by competitors. Your network also may be eligible for volume pricing based on the number of your services.
4. Network membership
In October, the AASM-accredited facility membership program will transition to a network membership program. It will ensure that all services within a network have access to valuable benefits including discounts on AASM services and programs such as Sleep ISR, free job ads in the Career Center on the AASM website, and a priority listing in the directory for patients on the Sleep Education website.
5. Sleep ISR alignment
To align with the updated Standards for Accreditation, Sleep ISR will allow you to easily track inter-scorer reliability among staff within your entire network. Sleep ISR will also be transitioning to a simplified and more equitable pricing structure based on the number of users within a network so that you only pay for what you need. Even if a user works at multiple locations within a network, you will only assign one “seat” within your network subscription.
Additional resources
For more information, please visit our webpage. The AASM will continue to provide more updates, information, and resources throughout the year. The updated accreditation application will be available beginning in January. Programs that are currently accredited have until December 31, 2025, to comply with all the standards. Contact accreditation@aasm.org with your questions.
AASM accreditation will soon give you more options and flexibility than ever before. The service-based accreditation model was built to serve you!
