How to Choose an Accreditation Consulting Firm
Last updated: October 2026
Evaluation criteria reviewed: October 4, 2026 (this date covers the ten checks below, not the rest of the page)
To choose an accreditation consulting firm, check ten things: its own credentials, reviewer experience, the accrediting bodies it works with, gap analysis, mock desktop and validation reviews, fee structure, RFI support, project tooling, and maintenance support between cycles. The checks below apply to any firm, including Integral Healthcare Solutions (IHS).
IHS, founded in 2002 by Thomas G. Goddard, JD, PhD, former Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of URAC, publishes these checks. A good consultant prepares your documentation and also sees your organization the way a reviewer would.
Why does an organization need an accreditation consultant?
Accreditation reviews are detailed, and outside experience can help with the points below.
You don't know what you don't know
Internal compliance teams know your organization. A consultant who has served as a reviewer can describe what the accrediting body looks for. These are different kinds of knowledge, and gaps that look closed from the inside can be visible to someone who has been on the review side.
Standards change over time
Accrediting bodies revise their standards over time, so find out which version will govern your review before you plan. A consultant who tracks revisions as they are announced helps you plan against the right version.
What happens if an application is denied?
The consequences depend on the accrediting body's rules. Ask your accrediting body for its current denial and reapplication rules before you plan your timeline.
Do different accrediting bodies need different expertise?
URAC, NCQA, ACHC, NABP and CARF each use their own standards, review formats and submission systems, so check that a consultant has current knowledge of the body that will review you.
NCQA accreditation and recognition engagements are led by Maureen Plumstead.
How do I match a consultant to my accrediting body?
Start from the body that your payer contract, delegation agreement, state rule or customer requirement names. If your contract names URAC, look for a firm with current URAC knowledge. If it names NCQA, look for current NCQA knowledge. If more than one body could satisfy the requirement, ask each firm how it would help you compare them.
What should I check when evaluating an accreditation consulting firm?
Use these ten checks to evaluate any firm, including IHS.
Criteria reviewed October 4, 2026.
1. Does the firm hold an accreditation or certification of its own?
Why it matters: A firm that asks clients to meet quality standards may hold a credential of its own. Ask what it holds, which body issued it and whether it relates to your program.
What a strong answer looks like: A clear statement of what the firm holds and what it covers, with the issuing body named.
2. Do the consultants have experience as accreditation reviewers?
Why it matters: A reviewer sees your submission the way the accrediting body does. Reviewer experience shows how standards are applied in practice and where gaps that look compliant on paper are caught in review.
What a strong answer looks like: Senior consultants with direct experience conducting accreditation reviews for the bodies relevant to your program, such as URAC, NCQA, ACHC or NABP. Ask about the depth and recency of that experience.
3. How many accrediting bodies does the firm work with?
Why it matters: An organization may need more than one accreditation, and standards from different bodies can overlap or conflict. A firm with experience across bodies can identify those intersections and avoid redundant work.
What a strong answer looks like: Current experience with each body that governs your program, and a clear account of how their requirements overlap.
4. Does the firm offer a standard-by-standard gap analysis?
Why it matters: A high-level gap assessment tells you roughly where you stand. An element-level gap analysis tells you what documentation, processes, and evidence are required at each standard, and maps your current state against every requirement before work begins. Surprises at the mock review are expensive. Surprises at the actual survey cost more.
What a strong answer looks like: A comprehensive, element-level analysis against current standards, with specific documentation requirements identified for each gap.
5. Does the firm conduct a mock desktop review with simulated scoring?
Why it matters: Your submission should be reviewed the way the accrediting body will review it, not given general feedback. A mock review that scores each element against current standards and identifies each deficiency with enough specificity to drive corrections is a practical way to prepare.
What a strong answer looks like: Full scoring simulation using current standards, with detailed written feedback on every element that falls short of the compliance threshold, not a summary report.
6. Does the firm conduct a mock validation review?
Why it matters: The on-site or virtual validation review can bring questions your staff have not prepared for. A mock that mirrors the real review in scope, format, and rigor prepares staff for the actual experience.
What a strong answer looks like: Ask how the mock's length and scope compare with your accreditor's review, and which questions your staff will practice.
7. Are fees fixed or hourly?
Why it matters: The fee structure affects how predictable your budget is and how freely your team can ask questions. A fixed fee sets one price for a defined scope, and an hourly fee follows the hours used.
What a strong answer looks like: A proposal that states what the fee covers, such as gap analysis, mock reviews, RFI support, policy templates and software access, what triggers a change, and how scope changes are priced.
8. Does the firm support the RFI process?
Why it matters: After a review, an accrediting body may send a Request for Information about specific findings. Ask how many RFI responses your accreditor allows and what format it expects, and how the firm will handle each one. A response that misses the specific deficiency can cost a standard that was otherwise achievable.
What a strong answer looks like: RFI support in the engagement scope, from consultants with specific experience responding to the particular body reviewing your application.
9. Does the firm provide technology for project management and compliance tracking?
Why it matters: An accreditation engagement can involve hundreds of standards, many evidence documents, several team members, and deadlines that span a year or more. Managing that in spreadsheets and shared drives can introduce coordination failures that show up as compliance gaps. A dedicated platform adds structure.
What a strong answer looks like: A platform that tracks compliance status across every standard, stores evidence, manages team collaboration, and provides current reporting. Ask for a live demonstration before engaging.
10. Does the firm offer ongoing compliance maintenance between accreditation cycles?
Why it matters: Compliance can drift between surveys as standards, regulations and operations change. An organization that met every standard at its last survey may not meet them today, and catching drift as it happens avoids a rebuild at reaccreditation.
What a strong answer looks like: Ongoing monitoring services that track regulatory and standards changes, flag emerging compliance gaps, and prepare organizations for reaccreditation before the cycle closes in on them.
How does IHS answer these checks?
The ten checks above describe what to look for. Below is how IHS answers some of them, and a discovery call covers the rest.
Led by senior practitioners
Thomas G. Goddard, JD, PhD, former Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of URAC, personally leads IHS's URAC and program-development engagements. Maureen Plumstead leads NCQA accreditation work. Dr. Goddard has written accreditation standards, managed surveyor programs, and adjudicated accreditation appeals. On the engagements he leads, you work with him directly. The IHS team page describes each team member.
Experience writing and applying standards
Dr. Goddard wrote accreditation standards, managed surveyor programs, and adjudicated accreditation appeals at URAC. That background shapes how IHS reads a standard and how its mock reviews score a submission.
Which accrediting bodies does IHS work with?
IHS consults on programs from URAC, NCQA, ACHC, NABP, CARF, FACT, DNV, NCCHC, AAHRPP, two Joint Commission programs (Home Care pharmacy accreditation and Health Care Staffing Services certification), and more. Organizations that need more than one accreditation can scope them together with IHS. The services catalog lists each program.
Three practice lines
IHS serves three distinct buyer profiles under one roof: organizations pursuing initial or continuing accreditation, organizations building compliance programs and managing ongoing regulatory obligations, and organizations that need to design new programs from scratch, such as credentialing systems, CVO architecture, quality management infrastructure, and compliance program builds. Organizations that need work across more than one of these practice lines can scope it together. IHS also offers Leadership & Organizational Development (I/O Psychology), industrial-organizational psychology consulting for healthcare workforces and leadership teams.
Starfinch
IHS's proprietary accreditation management platform tracks every standard, element, document, and deadline in one system. Compliance status is visible across the full engagement. Evidence is stored, organized, and retrievable by standard. Progress reporting does not require a status call, because the platform is kept current. Ask for a demonstration.
How do consulting firms set fees?
The total cost of accreditation has three parts: the accrediting body's fees, consulting fees, and your own staff time. The accrediting body sets its own fees, so ask it for current fee information before you budget.
Consulting firms price by the hour, by a fixed fee, or by a mix, so compare proposals on what each one covers. IHS sets a fixed fee for each engagement after a free discovery session, because scope, number of sites and gap severity change the work.
What this is not
- These ten checks are IHS's own framing. They are not an accrediting body's requirements.
- IHS is not an accrediting body and does not grant or influence an accreditation decision.
- IHS drafts the program, policies and clinical content for your clinicians to review and approve. Your organization's named contact submits to the accrediting body.
- No consultant can guarantee an accreditation outcome.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for when choosing an accreditation consulting firm?
Check ten things: the firm's own credentials, reviewer experience, the bodies it works with, gap analysis, mock desktop and validation reviews, fee structure, RFI support, project tooling, and maintenance support between cycles. Ask each firm to answer them for your program.
Do I need an accreditation consultant?
Not every organization does. Outside help fits when it is your first review with a body, when standards have changed, or when internal staff cannot give the document work enough time. A team with current experience of the same program and body may manage without it.
How do I match a consultant to the body in my contract?
Start from the body your payer contract, delegation agreement, state rule or customer requirement names, then look for a firm with current knowledge of that body.
Should the engagement be fixed fee or hourly?
Compare what each proposal covers. A fixed fee sets one price for a defined scope, and an hourly fee follows the hours used. Ask what each includes, what triggers a change, and how scope changes are priced.
What are a Mock Desktop Review and a Mock Validation Review?
A Mock Desktop Review scores your submission element by element against current standards before you file. A Mock Validation Review rehearses the on-site or virtual validation review in scope, format and rigor, so your staff practice the questions they will face.
Who submits the application to the accrediting body?
Your organization's named contact submits it. IHS drafts the documents.
How much does it cost to hire IHS?
IHS sets a fixed fee for each engagement after a free discovery session, because scope, number of sites and gap severity change the work. The accrediting body sets its own fees separately.
Are these checks only for IHS?
No. They apply to any firm, including IHS.
Ready to scope your engagement?
IHS engagements begin with a complimentary discovery call with Dr. Goddard. No obligation, no generic pitch deck, just a focused conversation about your accreditation goals and a scoped proposal tailored to your organization's size, history, and complexity.
Schedule a Free Discovery Session
Related pages: accreditation consulting, About IHS and contact IHS.
