11/22/2022
By 2030, it is anticipated all Medicare payments with be on a value-based model, rewarding providers for their quality of care rather than patient volume
8/31/2021
The theme for National Recovery Month 2021 is “Recovery is for Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community.” Recovery Month celebrates the millions who have found recovery from mental health and substance use disorders and serves as an opportunity for education on the benefits of mental health and substance use treatment. SAMHSA defines recovery as “a process of change through which people improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.”
5/6/2021
May 6 12, 2021, is Nurses Week. CARF recognizes the profound impact the nursing field has across health and human services.
11/13/2019
With a growing aging population, many adult children and other loved ones step up to provide care, but family caregivers take on a significant amount of work in addition to regular jobs and family responsibilities, which can lead to extreme burnout.
7/25/2019
Social determinants of health (SDH) are the conditions in which people live, work, and age and include factors like housing stability, employment status, geographic location, education, and other socioeconomic circumstances. SDH, often determined by distribution of wealth and resources, has proven responsible for inequities in healthcare and has become its biggest cost-driver.
6/7/2019
Using options like acupuncture, physical
fitness, pottery, and more within an organized community-based program can help
people reduce reliance on opioids
4/16/2019
In
October, we highlighted some emerging medtech options
that may help reduce reliance on opioids for pain management. Next in our
series on pain management in the context of the current opioid crisis, we examine
the deeper issue of the nature of pain itself.
3/14/2019
By CARF International
The CARF Connection blog often discusses integrative
services and ways to approach a person in a holistic way. In other words, we
focus on many of the things that social workers have been advocating since the
era of Jane Addams in the 1890s. It is no wonder that CARF’s workforce is
teeming with social work professionals.
This March, CARF joins the National Association of Social
Workers in celebrating social workers.
2/28/2019
By CARF International
CARF invited Flora Sadri to share more about the
office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) setting
and the need for a centralized quality framework. Flora
Sadri participated in the International Standards Advisory Committee that
crafted CARF’s new OBOT standards.
2/25/2019
By CARF International
With healthcare information more
widely available than ever, consumers are boosting their health literacy,
taking the initiative to educate themselves more thoroughly on how to take care
of themselves. Here are some suggestions for taking control of your own health
literacy.
2/13/2019
By CARF International
CARF shares best practices related to outcomes management through
its standards. To complement that effort, here are some recent field examples
of outcomes systems’ improving performance.
2/5/2019
By CARF International
The way we talk about methadone often does not communicate the
treatment offerings and efficacy of Opioid Treatment Programs. It’s time we
update public perceptions
1/29/2019
By CARF International
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is the term for the
combination of counseling and behavioral therapy with FDA-approved medications
to treat substance use disorders (SUD). Over the past few years, MAT has become
a broad term that describes how medication can support a person’s recovery from
SUD. However, due largely to America’s opioid epidemic, MAT is mostly known to
the public as it relates to the recovery of people with opioid use disorder
(OUD).
1/3/2019
By CARF International
As providers, regulators, and payers in health and human
services around the world seek value and efficiency, many are adopting new
standards, integrating new methods, reviewing existing regulations, and
exploring innovative practices from other countries.
12/20/2018
By CARF International
As 2018 comes to a close, we thank the many stakeholders who
spent another year advancing the goals and values close to CARF’s mission. In a
brief look back, here are some of the most consequential stories from 2018.
12/4/2018
By CARF International
Services for the UnderServed used accreditation standards
as part of a wholesale commitment to performance management. Now the
organization is well positioned to market itself within value-based and other
outcomes-based payment models.
11/29/2018
By CARF International
Many payers are exploring value- and performance-based
payment models in which providers are reimbursed for positive outcomes. Most
analysts believe such payment systems, which offer lower costs for payers, are
the wave of the future.
10/23/2018
By CARF International
Although private and state insurance sometimes cover opioid addiction
treatment, Medicare historically has not. However, on October 3, Congress passed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which
expanded Medicare coverage to include opioid treatment programs.
10/4/2018
By CARF International
Partly in response to the opioid crisis, medtechs across the
nation have ramped up development of devices that aim to manage pain without
exposing patients to the risk of drug addiction.
9/25/2018
By Michael Johnson, managing director of behavioral health, CARF
International
I attended the Zero Suicide International Summit this year
to exchange ideas with global thought leaders on how to eliminate the public
health crisis of suicide. I came away with many thoughts, but here are some of
the highlights.
9/19/2018
By CARF International
As suicide rates edge up, many human service organizations are
challenged to publicly talk about the issue in responsible and effective ways.
6/8/2018
By CARF International
This week brings renewed attention to the issue of suicide.
While the tragic losses of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain will get headlines,
they represent a growing public health issue that is the tenth leading cause of
death in the United States: suicide. These events offer an opportunity to
address misconceptions, stigma, and a lack of resources that act as barriers
for people at risk, and to bring the focus toward resources and best practices.
5/24/2018
By CARF International
Take advantage of the professional development resource
offered to CARF-accredited organizations, and encourage your emerging leaders
to become CARF surveyors.
5/17/2018
By CARF International
A recent report discusses the future of community-based
human services. The first four initiatives are directly supported by CARF
standards, meaning, if you’re a CBO applying the standards for accreditation,
you’re likely strengthening the overall ecosystem. Here are the standards and
other CARF resources that can offer guidance to your organization.
5/10/2018
By Valeria Benabdallah, CEO/Psychotherapist, VEMB Psychotherapy Services
Being a microbusiness means that stakeholders, persons
served, and the two staff members at VEMB Psychotherapy Services work closely
together. My work as a social justice mental health clinician is to collaborate
with appropriate systems while providing psychotherapeutic interventions to
clients and their families. As a CEO, my job is to provide sound leadership and
oversight to all business, clinical, and financial functions of the
organization.
4/10/2018
By CARF International
Surveyors representing health and human service organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada attended the 2018 CARF Surveyor Continuing Education Conference on March 24 and 25 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort in beautiful Tucson, Arizona.
2/28/2018
CARF’s winter Transforming Outcomes Institute concluded on February 24.
It hosted more than 100 participants in Tucson, AZ. Here’s a visual breakdown of the
training.
1/19/2018
On Tuesday, January
16, Tyler Hilinski, the starting quarterback for the Washington State Cougars
football team, lost his life to suicide. His death leaves family, teammates,
classmates, and many other members of the community in a state of deep pain. Tyler was not someone
most would have imagined was dealing with a behavioral health issue. He was
young, intelligent, and a star Division-1 athlete. These facts underscore a
major misconception about suicide.
11/8/2017
By Betty O'Keefe, publications & communications, CARF International
Standards for business practices in health and human services are
robust and forward-looking in the CARF model. However, this important
area can be underemphasized or overlooked entirely by other accreditors.
David Wilber, executive director of Diversified Enterprises and long-time CARF
surveyor, witnessed
the difference in results and volunteered his perspective for the white
paper Developing sophisticated systems for success, recently published by BB&T Capital Markets. In the following
article, Wilber describes his path to understanding how CARF is a
differentiator for organizations seeking to survive, compete, and thrive in
this increasingly complex service arena.
9/1/2017
We at CARF are deeply concerned about the many lives
affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, natural disasters of significant scope and scale.
8/23/2017
We spoke with three former CARF
surveyors who are now CARF staff members. They shared some interesting context
on themselves and why they first got into surveying
4/12/2017
Hawaii Island Recovery utilizes a resident pod of wild, free-swimming
Spinner dolphins to create meaningful experiences for their clients receiving
treatment for addiction. Program Director and Experiential Therapist, Eliza
Wille, shares how she combined her master’s degree in psychology and years-long
interest and research in cetaceans to develop this unique program.
12/6/2016
Health
Management Systems of America (HMSA) is a leader in the State of Michigan in
providing training on human trafficking. Two years ago, HMSA embarked on a mission to develop education,
awareness, and training programming for this topic following a meeting with the
Ambassador from Australia, who is also a member of the Global Freedom Network.
Human trafficking trainings are now being presented in the community, and HMSA
is in the process of putting together community groups to focus on the health
of victims, housing, and education. Videos, booklets, and other actionable
pieces of information are available online.
9/16/2016
Responsible, quality-based practitioners in the health and human services industry should educate and train themselves to act in a responsible and timely manner when presented with a person at risk for suicide. We know through research that applying evidence-based practice and delivering comprehensive and integrated prevention programs can reduce the rate of suicide. In regard to Suicide Prevention Month, please access CARF’s Quality Practice Notice on Suicide Prevention for first step resources to saving a life.
6/21/2016
Telecommunications and data management technology has
unavoidably made its way into healthcare industries because it can increase
consumer access to services and providers’ ability to provide them. Many
providers are successfully incorporating technological solutions, which is why
CARF has made an effort to highlight practices related to this topic in the Promising Practices newsletter series. This blog
post features some articles that highlight successful uses of technology to
improve business practices or service delivery.
5/31/2016
A major story so far in 2016 has been the change in service
delivery models toward larger systems and networks through affiliations,
mergers, and various other types of integrations. Providers are forming
relationships across multiple sectors to expand their reach and provide services
more efficiently to a broader population. The changing environment poses
challenges for providers as they find themselves operating within a new service
infrastructure or environment. This trend is of particular interest to CARF
because it poses quality questions for providers across a spectrum of
industries.
4/8/2016
After your programs or services have earned CARF accreditation, you will want to market and advertise your achievement to your community and stakeholders. CARF provides resources that can help you promote your accreditation, including guidelines for citing your accreditation, example news release and letter text, and several CARF seal options. This blog post explains how to properly use and display the CARF seals of accreditation in your online and printed materials.
2/19/2016
TRICARE, the healthcare program offered by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), is in the process of modernizing its behavioral health benefits. Earlier this month, the DoD published a Proposed Rule entitled TRICARE: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorder Treatment. Providers, persons served, and the public can submit their comments on this rule change until April 1, 2016.
2/16/2016
By Michael Johnson, Managing Director of Behavioral Health, CARF International
What we are seeing today, for the first time in my career, is a mainstream attitude in the United States that mental health treatment should be on par and equal with that of other illnesses. However, growth in service offerings has been slow. We must utilize this historic opportunity to move forward with greater capacity and efforts toward integrating mental and behavioral healthcare with primary healthcare. As part of CARF’s 50th year anniversary, we will be sharing snapshots of the industries in which we offer accreditation services. This is part 2 of that series: Behavioral Health.
1/21/2016
Dawn Pickering of CARF Canada collaborated with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Canadian Executive Council on Addictions to create a resource document for residential treatment facilities.