The Accreditation Commission for Health Care Inc. and SGS Systems & Services Certification will jointly perform the health care industry’s first audit that combines clinical best practices with ISO 9001. The audit will be performed on Southern Pharmaceutical Corp. in October. The organizations report that by combining process management with accreditation standards of clinical best practices will help decrease medical errors and costs, and improve the quality of health care.

The second stage of the audit will involve the development of a hybrid standard and a data collection instrument that combines ACHC standards with the International Workshop Agreement (IWA 1). The IWA 1 is a guideline for health service organizations based on ISO 9004: 2000 and developed by more than 120 quality industry professionals. The second hybrid audit combining IWA 1 and ACHC home health standards will be performed with a Medicare-certified home health agency.

Southern Pharmaceutical Corp. is a home care pharmacy and home medical equipment supplier. The SGS Group is a global provider of inspection, verification, testing and certification services. For more information, visit www.us.sgs.com.

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