We’ve noticed recently a couple of well-known hospitals switch from accreditation by Joint Commission to Det Norske Veritas Healthcare (DNV).  Diane Meldi, chair of the NAMSS Industry and Government Relations Committee, authored an article outlining the differences between the “Big Three” hospital accrediting agencies.  All three have “deeming authority” as granted by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS).

According to HealthLeaders Media, deeming authority means that hospitals accredited by an organization with deeming authority can elect to be “deemed” as meeting CMS requirements based on successful accreditation by the other organization.  In 2008, DNV became the first new organization to receive deeming authority for hospitals in more than 30 years.