By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    benefits of using protein powder to build muscles
    Protein Powder for Muscle Mass: Everything You Need to Know
    December 12, 2021
    changes brought on by blockchain in healthcare
    Technology In The Healthcare Industry
    March 28, 2022
    What Does Core Body Temperature Say About Health?
    August 17, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    FDA Approves Diabetes Pill
    May 2, 2011
    Patient Gets Drunk on Hand Sanitizer
    June 20, 2011
    Cultivating Health Improvement
    July 20, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The Benefits and Value of CARF Accreditation
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > The Benefits and Value of CARF Accreditation
BusinessHospital Administration

The Benefits and Value of CARF Accreditation

Abby Norman
Last updated: May 24, 2014 8:00 am
Abby Norman
Share
5 Min Read
CARF accreditation
SHARE

The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) was established in 1966 as an alternative to Joint Commission certification. Services provided by rehabilitation facilities are subtly specified in different ways than general hospitals. It’s fitting, then, that they have their own, more specified accreditation system for their services.

Contents
CARF ServicesWho Does CARF Accredit?Steps to AccreditationThe CARF Difference

The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) was established in 1966 as an alternative to Joint Commission certification. Services provided by rehabilitation facilities are subtly specified in different ways than general hospitals. It’s fitting, then, that they have their own, more specified accreditation system for their services.

CARF accreditation

CARF Services

  • Behavior health
  • Psychosocial rehabilitation
  • Rehabilitation
  • Child and Youth Services
  • Employment and community services
  • Medical rehabilitation
  • Opioid treatment

The sensitivity of these services points to a need for special accreditation. When patients are in the market for such services, accreditation and reputation will matter not only to the patients, but also to their families and support systems. Facilities know this and that’s what many choose to apply for CARF accreditation. That’s right- they choose. A CARF accreditation is voluntary. That means that organizations seeking the accreditation do so on their own time with their own resources and money.  Facilities that take the time to do this do so because they understand the value of accreditation to the consumers (i.e. the patients).

Who Does CARF Accredit?

  • Aging services
  • Behavioral Health
  • Child and Youth
  • Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies
  • Employment and Community Services
  • Medical Rehabilitation
  • Opioid Treatment Programs
  • Vision Rehabilitation Services

Steps to Accreditation

  1. Do a self-evaluation of your facility. Pretend that you are the accreditation team and look at every process in your organization, keeping your eyes open to changes in workflows.
  2. When you’ve finished an internal review, make changes to efficiencies, safety or anything else that came up during your review.
  3. Request an on-site survey from CARF. Ideally, anything that they find will be new to you, assuming you were able to fix or improve what was uncovered during your internal review.
  4. Review the results of your survey. The results will include a written review of your services, including areas of strength and places that need improvement. If your organization has achieved the strict standards outlined by CARF, you’ll receive accreditation. If not, you now have a written report outlining the changes you need to make to be eligible, so, you can start the process over again.

CARF Accreditation is awarded in several forms:

More Read

Squandering Medicare’s Money
Drug Co-Pay Cards: Can We All Just Get Along?
Leadership First, and Other Critical Lessons to Improve Patient Experience
Pfizer and Hospira: It’s Not About Generics
Healthcare Spending: Administrative Costs out of Control
  • Three-Year: A “full accreditation” where the organization has proven that they meet or even exceeds the standards of accreditation.
  • One-Year: The organization still has some work to do to improve services, but they have demonstrated the willingness and resources to implement these changes, so they are still awarded a certification conditionally.
  • Provisional: After the One-Year accreditation has expired; the organization will be reviewed for a potential Three-Year accreditation. If they have not made the necessary improvements to advance, they will become non-accredited.
  • Nonaccreditation: The organization has major changes to make and is not yet ready to receive and uphold accreditation.

There are also a few other provisional levels that make some allowances for new organizations and organizations that need to be accredited, but with some limitations or stipulations. 

The CARF Difference

The CARF website does an excellent job of displaying the benefits of CARF accreditation. They conducted a study that showed, longitudinally, the difference that CARF accreditation made to the organizations it certified.

From the time of their first survey compared to the most recent survey, CARF accredited programs:

  • Had a 26% increase in patients served

  • Had a 37% increase in conformance to quality standards

  • Had a 37% increase in annual budget dollars

So, CARF is proven to increase revenue, both through increased patients as well as improvements to budget and ROI. Organizations can also expect to save money by avoiding financial penalties for areas of deficient in patient safety.

CARF is recognized internationally as the gold standard of accreditation for rehabilitation facilities. Knowing what obtaining the certification entails, you can be sure that organizations that receive the accreditation are committed to quality, patient safety and satisfaction.

TAGGED:CARF
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share
By Abby Norman
My name is Abby Norman and I am a healthcare blogger. With over 10 years of experience in the medical field, I have developed a passion for helping others understand the complexities of healthcare.

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Dental health
May 21, 2025
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
Dental health
May 21, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025

You Might also Like

Palm Prints

February 13, 2013
Image
BusinessHealth Reform

High Quality, Low Cost HealthCare Video Interview Series: Neel Shah and CostsOfCare

October 16, 2012
Image
BusinessMedical RecordsNews

Siemens Moves into Health Information Exchange

February 24, 2012

Medicare Is Lousy Insurance

May 2, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?