The Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) has announced the release of a draft of the second edition of national accreditation standards for mobile integrated healthcare (MIH) programmes. The first edition of the MIH Standards was published in April 2022.

Dudley Smith, Associate Executive of CAMTS, commented: “We don’t look at these as ‘our’ standards, but as MIH standards that are developed by those that do the job every day. Regardless of the type of programme you are, or even if you never plan to seek accreditation, we greatly value and appreciate the comments and suggestions we receive from these dedicated care providers, administrators and patients.”

These standards represent a collaborative work intended to recognise the future of both paramedicine and integrated approaches to the delivery of the entire spectrum of care from social services to advanced clinical specialties. Input from both practitioners and leaders is vital to ensuring the standards recognise the pioneering work being done across the US and around the world.

MIH is a relatively new, evolving, and expanding field of healthcare focused on providing primary and preventative care to underserved populations. The goals include increasing access to care, improving health and wellbeing, and reducing hospital admissions and readmissions, emergency room visits, and costs. Care providers can come from any area of healthcare, but most community MIH services use paramedics in expanded roles caring for clients in non-emergency situations in their homes or other locations.

As an accredited standards-setting organisation through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), CAMTS follows the ANSI essential elements for establishing new and expanding standards. This includes solicitation and consideration of comments as well as suggestions for standards development.

Updated draft standards, as well as feedback from comments received, will be posted on the website periodically until the final version is approved by the CAMTS MIH Program Standards Committee and the CAMTS board. The final standards are expected to be released in mid-2025. Programmes that believe they are in substantial compliance with the standards can apply for the voluntary accreditation. The application process and requirements can be found on the CAMTS website.

Atrium Health from the US state of North Carolina is the first entity earning full accreditation under CAMTS’ Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Accreditation Standards.