The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Friday the approval of DNV Healthcare, Inc., as a deeming authority to accredit hospitals. DNV is the first new organization to receive deeming authority for hospitals in more than 30 years.

DNV has crafted a system intended to combine CMS’ Conditions of Participation with ISO 9001 quality management. This program, called the National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (NIAHO), was created with the goal of streamlining the accreditation process and identifying means for improving current standards and promoting continual improvement, according to DNV.

Several hospitals have been accredited by DNV Healthcare using NIAHO in addition to other accreditation services. DNV Healthcare is a division of Houston-based DNV USA, a subsidiary of the Norwegian company Det Norske Veritas. DNV focuses on risk management and training in several industries, including healthcare.

For more information from DNV about NIAHO, including a download of its standards, click here.