The Accreditation Process
Learn more about the path to DirectTrust accreditation.
An Overview of the Accreditation Process
The DirectTrust accreditation process is designed to ensure that healthcare organizations and entities meet high standards for data exchange, security, privacy, and interoperability, ultimately promoting patient safety, data protection, and the quality of healthcare services. Find the following steps and resources to pursue the accreditation process on this page.
Please note the following items:
- Organizations interested in knowing if they qualify for accreditation or certification must complete the Application form.
- An Accreditation Program Agreement must be signed by the applicant and submitted.
- A Financial Attestation to verify your organization’s revenue must also be submitted.
- Both first time applicants and re-accreditation candidates will follow the same process for achieving accreditation. The accreditation cycle is for 2 years. The previous accreditation ceases to exist when a new accreditation takes effect. Once an accreditation ballot takes place the organization begins a new accreditation cycle based on the criteria that was reviewed during that accreditation period.
Steps towards Accreditation
Application:
- Complete the electronic Application.
- A clarification letter is emailed to gather or confirm any required information.
- A detailed letter is emailed to the organization with the instructions for the remaining steps of the application process.
- Submit the signed Accreditation Program Agreement and Financial Attestation.
Submit Fees:
- Send payment of applicable accreditation fees.
Self-Assessment:
- Upon completion of the Application Process and approval, the Self-Assessment zip file will be made available to the organization, the Assessor will be assigned and the organization will be added to the Accredited Organizations page as a Candidate.
- Submit complete self-assessment 4 months prior to the expiration date. New applicants can submit the self-assessment as soon as it is completed before the due date.
- If the self-assessment contains sufficient satisfactory information and documentation a location review(s) in 2 places. will be scheduled to verify the information contained in the self-assessment. If the assigned Assessor has questions or determines that the submission is incomplete, they may request that the self-assessment be resubmitted before a date is set for thelocation review(s) in 2 places.
Location Review:
- Location reviews are completed, and the Assessor completes the draft Accreditation Report.
Draft Report:
- The draft Accreditation Report is reviewed and refined through an internal QA Process.
- The organization approves the draft accreditation Report.
Commission Review:
- The Commission reviews and votes on the Accreditation Report.
- The organization will be informed whether the accreditation has been approved or denied.
Recognition:
- Upon approval of accreditation/certification and payment of all fees the organization’s status is changed to Accredited on the Accredited Organizations page.
- Additional recognition materials, like a digital badge, are provided to the organization.
Accreditation is awarded based upon its review of the organization for that specific “point in time” that the accreditation process occurred. DirectTrust is not responsible for any changes in policies, procedures or controls, processes or access that may occur subsequently in which it has no visibility or is unaware. It is the organization’s responsibility to report significant changes to us through our Sentinel Events policy.