Practice Management
Facing the future: AAHA’s standards receive first-ever full refresh
For the first time in 90 years, AAHA’s standards of accreditation have undergone a thorough and comprehensive review process. Here’s what you may want to know about this refresh (and what it means for your team).
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In the constantly evolving landscape of veterinary medicine, ensuring AAHA’s Standards of Accreditation remain current is no small task. For 90 years, this has been accomplished through incremental updates and changes, but today, AAHA has completed a comprehensive refresh of the standards to bring those benchmarks of excellence fully up to date.
Over the course of 18 months, AAHA’s Director of Standards collaborated with subject matter experts, AAHA staff, the Board of Directors, and the Practice Accreditation Committee to complete a top-to-bottom review of more than 1200 standards. Nearly 400 revisions were recommended; the Board of Directors reviewed these recommendations and implemented more than 250 revisions.
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The refreshed standards will go into effect in late 2026; members will be able to preview the refreshed standards by the end of 2025.
What’s changing—and what’s not
All revisions were designed to ensure the standards on which AAHA member hospitals are evaluated reflect modern best practices. As Jessica Vogelsang, DVM, AAHA Chief Medical Officer, said, “AAHA’s standards have a storied history and have grown with the industry over the years. As veterinary medicine continues progress and advance, our focus is for this project to reflect that growth.”
A range of revisions were made, including updates to clarifying language, streamlining categories, as well as strengthening focus on hospital operations, employee relations, and evidence-based best practices. Additionally, as announced in July, several new standards will be added.
Let’s chat about it
Listen up! AAHA’s Director of Standards, Devon Crandell, shared insights about the standards refresh (and more) on a recent episode of AAHA’s From the SOAP Box podcast. If you’ve got standards question, he’s got the answers.
Listen on Spotify, YouTube, or the AAHA LMS.
That being said, some important elements will remain the same: the accreditation and reaccreditation processes will undergo no changes.
Even so, hospitals might notice that familiar standards have been reorganized, streamlined, or modernized to make these standards more relevant and/or easier to apply—without any compromises to the overall goal of achieving excellence in veterinary care.
“Though several of the standards have been revised, we want to ensure existing and future members view this project with the same intention we did,” said Devon Crandell, AAHA’s Director of Standards. “That landscape of medicine and practice operations continues to shift towards a brighter future for our patients. I take pride in everyone’s current and future contributions for what AAHA stands for, the excellence that is veterinary medicine.”
Overall, the standards refresh project was completed with the aim of holding up AAHA’s promise of advancing veterinary medicine and supporting practices in delivering the highest quality care for pets and their families.
Photo credit: Luis D. Barrera Gamboa via E+/Getty Images
Disclaimer: Trends™ content is meant to inform, educate, and inspire by providing an array of diverse viewpoints. Any content published should not be viewed as an official stance, position, or endorsement by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) or its Board of Directors.
