ACM provides clarity regarding admission criteria for maternity care collaborations

Midwives, postpartum nurses, obstetricians/gynecologists, and hospitals will work together even more closely in an effort to improve the quality of maternity care. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) finds it essential that all providers of maternity care have the opportunity to join such collaborations. Bart Broers, Director of ACM’s Health Care Department, explains: “We welcome collaborations that lead to quality improvements. Such important collaborations cannot put up barriers for potential new members. That would restrict the options of pregnant women.” To provide more clarity, ACM has published guidelines, which collaborations can use to assess what criteria they are allowed to use in order to determine which care providers they can admit.

Collaborations in maternity care

For pregnant women, it is important that maternity care providers participate in collaborations such as collaborations between midwives (VSVs), collaborations between postpartum nurses (KSVs) or integral maternity care organizations (IGOs). After all, membership of such collaborations means that the care provider in question knows about regional health care standards, and that it meets generally accepted professional quality standards. Collaborations are allowed to require their members to meet quality standards, but they can only exclude health care providers on the basis of objective admission criteria.

Objective criteria and independent appeal procedures

Following indications it received regarding one collaboration in particular, ACM investigated whether or not a recent membership denial was correct. In that investigation, ACM sat down with the health care providers involved and the collaboration in question, explaining the rules. As a result, the collaboration in question adjusted its admission criteria on several points. The basic principle is that admission criteria cannot create any unnecessary barriers, that they must be objective and open, and that they cannot discriminate. In addition, collaborations must have independent appeal procedures in place, allowing those that have been denied membership to file appeals.

In order to help other health care providers as well, ACM explained the rules regarding admission in greater detail by including several examples in the guidelines. ACM will also publish these guidelines on its website.