3793.061 Accreditation in lieu of certification.

(A) In lieu of a determination by the department of alcohol and drug addiction services of whether an alcohol and drug addiction program satisfies the standards for certification under section 3793.06 of the Revised Code, the department shall accept appropriate accreditation of an applicant's alcohol and other drug addiction services, integrated mental health and alcohol and other drug addiction services, or integrated alcohol and other drug addiction and physical health services being provided in this state from any of the following national accrediting organizations as evidence that the applicant satisfies the standards for certification:

(1) The joint commission;

(2) The commission on accreditation of rehabilitation facilities;

(3) The council on accreditation.

(B) If the department determines that an applicant's accreditation is current, is appropriate for the program for which the applicant is seeking certification, and the applicant meets any other requirements established under this section or in rules adopted under this section, the department shall certify or recertify the program. Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, the department shall issue the certification or recertification without further evaluation of the program.

(C) For purposes of this section, all of the following apply:

(1) The department may review the accrediting organizations listed in division (A) of this section to evaluate whether the accreditation standards and processes used by the organizations are consistent with service delivery models the department considers appropriate for alcohol and other drug addiction services, physical health services, or both. The department may communicate to an accrediting organization any identified concerns, trends, needs, and recommendations.

(2) The department may visit or otherwise evaluate an alcohol and drug addiction program at any time based on cause, including complaints made by or on behalf of consumers and confirmed or alleged deficiencies brought to the attention of the department.

(3) The department shall require an alcohol and drug addiction program to notify the department not later than ten days after any change in the program's accreditation status. The program may notify the department by providing a copy of the relevant document the program received from the accrediting organization.

(4) The department shall require an alcohol and drug addiction program to submit to the department reports of major unusual incidents.

(5) The department may require an alcohol and drug addiction program to submit to the department cost reports pertaining to the program.

(D) The department shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to implement this section. In adopting the rules, the department shall do all of the following:

(1) Specify the documentation that must be submitted as evidence of holding appropriate accreditation;

(2) Establish a process by which the department may review the accreditation standards and processes used by the national accrediting organizations listed in division (A) of this section;

(3) Specify the circumstances under which reports of major unusual incidents and program cost reports must be submitted to the department;

(4) Specify the circumstances under which the department may visit or otherwise evaluate an alcohol and drug addiction program for cause;

(5) Establish a process by which the department, based on deficiencies identified as a result of visiting or evaluating an alcohol drug addiction program under division (C)(2) of this section, may take any of a range of corrective actions, with the most stringent being revocation of the program's certification.

Added by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28,HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.