How Does a Practice Become AAHA Accredited?
In order to become accredited, a veterinary hospital must be evaluated on over 900 standards of veterinary excellence. These standards are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that they stay current with scientific and technical advancements, as well as other new developments in veterinary medicine.
By voluntarily meeting a stringent set of 900 medical care standards designed by AAHA, these exceptional practices are providing the highest levels of veterinary care when it comes to:
- emergency services
- pain management
- contagious diseases
- surgery and anesthesia
- radiology services
- pathology services
- nursing care
- diagnostic and pharmacy
- dentistry
- examination facilities
- pet medical records
- medical library
- housekeeping and maintenance
Meeting these standards is challenging and requires serious dedication by the entire practice. To maintain accredited status, veterinary hospitals must undergo a comprehensive, on-site evaluation every three years to ensure that they are meeting and practicing veterinary medicine in accordance with the AAHA standards. This includes a broad range of requirements in each of the categories, many of which involve specific protocols and/or procedures, as well as extra steps and detail well above those generally accepted in the veterinary field.