The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), founded in 1979, is an American organization which accredits ambulatory health care organizations, including ambulatory surgery centers, office-based surgery centers, endoscopy centers, and college student health centers, as well as health plans, such as health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations. AAAHC has been granted “deemed status” to certify ambulatory surgery centers for Medicare by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
More than 40 years ago, AAAHC was founded to:
“encourage and assist ambulatory health care organizations to provide the highest achievable level of care for recipients in the most efficient and economically sound manner. AAAHC accomplishes this by the operation of a peer-based assessment, consultation, education and accreditation program.”.