AAHA gives sneak peek at ‘refreshed’ voluntary accreditation standards

Story and photo by Christine Won

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) will debut streamlined accreditation standards next year.

At its recent annual conference, held September 11-13 in Chicago, AAHA announced a first-ever "comprehensive refresh" of its standards of accreditation in its 92-year history, the voluntary benchmarks that member practices seek to achieve.

"AAHA’s standards have a storied history and have grown with the industry over the years," said Dr. Jessica Vogelsang, AAHA’s chief medical officer, in a September 15 announcement. "As veterinary medicine continues to progress and advance, our focus is for this project to reflect that growth."

Attendees at AAHA CON, which drew more than 850 veterinary professionals and industry partners, heard from 40 speakers delivering more than 85 continuing education sessions and keynotes, and got a sneak peek at upcoming announcements.

Standards refresh

The standards refresh comes after AAHA brought on Devon Crandell, a credentialed veterinary technician, as the new director of standards two years ago. In that time, he, along with other AAHA staff members, board of directors, the practice accreditation committee, and subject matter experts, have completed a comprehensive audit of AAHA’s accreditation standards.

They recommended almost 450 revisions to the more than 1,200 current accreditation standards, of which about 50 are mandatory.

The AAHA board approved and is implementing more than 250 revisions, which include clarifying language and an emphasized focus on hospital operations, employee relations, and evidence-based best practices.

The action comes after four new standards encouraging microchipping and discouraging medically unnecessary ear cropping, devocalization, and declawing were added in July.

"We’ve worked diligently to eliminate any redundancies, update any standards that did not reflect current best practices, and, most importantly, implemented a process of continual improvement," Crandell told the AAHA CON audience. "Now, the refreshed AAHA standards of accreditation are reflective of existing best practices, and we’re committed to keeping it that way."

In an interview with AVMA News, Dr. Vogelsang described the refresh project as a reorganization than an overhaul and to create "a future-proof process."

She said discussions of a larger accreditation standards refresh stemmed from a similar success with guidelines, after installing Dr. Ingrid Taylor in the new position of director of guidelines.

While AAHA’s standards provide the basis for how veterinary practices become accredited by the association, AAHA also publishes guidelines as recommendations for any veterinary practice.

Under Dr. Taylor’s leadership, AAHA has released approximately three to four guidelines annually. In the past year, AAHA has released guidelines for veterinary specialist referrals, One Health, and community care. The association plans to release one for oncology in early 2026, to aid general practitioners in managing cancer cases in everyday practice.

Since then, the association brought on Crandell to fill an equivalent position for accreditation standards.

The refreshed standards are slated to go into effect in late 2026 but will be available for preview online by the end of 2025.

The accreditation and reaccreditation processes for member practices remain unchanged.

Other announcements

Also in 2026, AAHA expects to announce its new CEO after former CEO Garth Jordan stepped down in June after five years in the position, during which he led the organization’s expansion internationally.