Allied Health Education and Accreditation

Abstract

<h3>COOPERATION AMONG THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS</h3> For the past 50 years, the American Medical Association has participated extensively in activities to promote quality in allied health education and in accreditation review processes. In collaboration with the AMA, more than 40 allied health organizations and related medical specialty societies have developed educational standards for 25 allied health professions (Appendix IV, Table 1). Using these standards, the Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation (CAHEA) accredits more than 3,000 allied health educational programs (Table 1) at almost 1,800 institutions, including hospitals and clinics, junior-community colleges, colleges and universities, and other institutions throughout the United States (Appendix IV, Table 2; and the Figure). Central to the development of quality within allied health educational programs are the<i>Essentials</i>, ie, the minimum acceptable standards for entry-level education. The AMA cooperates with the collaborating organizations in developing and adopting<i>Essentials</i>. In December 1976, the AMA House of