AAAHC surveyors ask how your written policies work in practice, from patient selection and privileges to emergency drills, consent, records and, from v45, how AI tools are governed. AAAHC publishes many of these questions itself as a Surveyor Lens in its newsletter and in a crosswalk to the v45 AI standards.
How surveyors ask
AAAHC describes its survey as peer-based and educational.1 Surveyors compare policy with practice, which is why procedure observation is part of surgical surveys and why staff interviews matter.2 In April 2026 AAAHC published the questions surveyors ask when an organisation expands into higher-acuity procedures, each tied to a standard.2
| Surveyor question | Standard | What answers it |
|---|---|---|
| How does the organisation determine readiness before expanding scope, and how are identified risks addressed? | Risk assessment | A documented risk assessment before new procedures |
| Is emergency preparedness aligned with current acuity, and can staff demonstrate it in practice? | EMG.180 | Equipment matched to procedures, and drills |
| Do patient selection criteria clearly reflect the organization's scope, resources, and anesthesia capabilities? | ASG.110 | Written criteria approved by the governing body |
| Where has acuity increased, how was staff readiness ensured? | CPV.140, ADM.170 | Privileges with evidence of training and competence |
| How does the organization validate that privileges and competencies keep pace with complexity? | Quality monitoring | Outcome data reviewed against privileges |
| Are these elements connected and actively reviewed, or managed in isolation? | Governance | Minutes linking risk, privileges and outcomes |
Questions on records, consent and quality
- Show me how informed consent was obtained and documented for this patient. (Patient Rights, Responsibilities, and Protections)3
- Where are allergies, the reaction and its severity documented? (CRD.210)4
- How were this outside result and consultation reviewed and incorporated? (CRD.220)5
- What written self-care instructions did this patient take home? (CMC.190)6
- How do you control who can access, edit or delete a record, and how is it backed up? (CRD.130)3
- Walk me through a QI study, from baseline to remeasurement. (QUA.240)2
- How are near misses and adverse incidents reported and reviewed? (SAF.110 to SAF.130)7
- When was your last emergency drill, and what scenario did it simulate? (EMG.170)7
Questions on AI, from v45
v45 adds AI governance standards from 15 December 2026, covering governance and oversight, risk management, staff training, patient consent, data security and privacy, and vendor management.4 AAAHC has published a Surveyor Questions Crosswalk to the v45 AI standards as part of its AI Governance Guide.8 Expect questions such as which AI tools are in use, who approved them, who reviews their output, how patients are told and what the vendor agreement says.
- Give each category an owner. One person who can answer for each category and produce its evidence.
- Practise with real records. Ask the questions above against records chosen at random, not ones prepared in advance.
- Practise with front-line staff. Surveyors ask the person doing the work. Front desk, nursing and recovery staff each get two or three questions.
- Time the answers. Anything that takes more than a few minutes to show is a gap in where the evidence lives.
- Write down what was hard. Each hard question becomes an action with an owner.
- Question ______
- Standard ______ Owner ______
- What we show ______
- Where it lives ______ Time to produce ______
- Gap found ______ Action and date ______
Use these questions in the AAAHC mock survey, and check the evidence against the clinical records guide. The AAAHC hub lists more questions with where the answers live.
Questions
Do AAAHC surveyors interview front-line staff?
Yes. Surveyors compare written policy with practice, through interviews, observation and procedure observation in surgical settings.
Will surveyors ask about AI before v45 takes effect?
v45 applies to surveys on or after 15 December 2026. Before then the v44 Governance standards already give the governing body responsibility for contracts and operations, including AI tools.
Where can we find AAAHC's own surveyor questions?
In Triangle Times Today articles, which include a Surveyor Lens, and in the Surveyor Questions Crosswalk in AAAHC's AI Governance Guide.
Sources
- 1AAAHC, 2026Ambulatory AccreditationRead source
- 2AAAHC, 2026April 2026 Triangle Times Today, procedure observation and the six components of a QI studyRead source
- 3AAAHC, 2026July 2026 Triangle Times Today, Electronic Health Records in Ambulatory CareRead source
- 4AAAHC, 2026August 2026 Triangle Times Today, AAAHC's New v45 Standards Provide Guidance for Artificial Intelligence UseRead source
- 5AAAHC, 2025October 2025 Triangle Times TodayRead source
- 6AAAHC, 2026May 2026 Triangle Times TodayRead source
- 7AAAHC, 2026June 2026 Triangle Times Today, New 2026 Quality Roadmap Expands AnalysisRead source
- 8AAAHC, 2026September 2026 Triangle Times Today, What AAAHC Surveyors Want You to KnowRead source
Written by the wai team from Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care guidance, checked on 15 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. AAAHC does not endorse wai or any software.