The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) is an international association of more than 40,000 veterinary care providers who treat companion animals. Established in 1933, AAHA is well known among veterinarians and pet owners for its standards for hospitals and pet health care. Many veterinary hospitals voluntarily participate and remain actively involved in the AAHA hospital evaluation program. Learn more about AAHA and why you should always choose an accredited hospital on their website: https://www.aaha.org/
AAHA is the only organization that accredits animal hospitals throughout the U.S. and Canada. Unlike human hospitals, not all veterinary hospitals need to be accredited, and only 12-15% of US hospitals are AAHA accredited. AAHA-accredited hospitals voluntarily choose to be evaluated on 900 standards. These AAHA standards represent those components of veterinary practice high-quality care. The Standards are periodically reviewed and updated to ensure that they remain consistent with evolving knowledge and technology.
All AAHA hospital members voluntarily meet or exceed the association’s standards for facilities, equipment, and quality procedures. They are regularly evaluated by an AAHA consultant to assure continuing compliance. In addition, every AAHA veterinarian is encouraged to keep up-to-date on major developments in veterinary medicine. The association offers its 40,000 individual members a wide variety of continuing education opportunities-self-study courses, seminars, lectures, workshops, annual and regional meetings, videotapes, computer education, and publications.
What does this mean for you as a pet owner? Choosing an AAHA accredited veterinary practice for your pet’s medical care assures you that the practice you have selected has the facilities, equipment, staff, and medical protocols that AAHA believes are important for the delivery of high quality care.
Furthermore, this hospital’s voluntary commitment to the AAHA Standards and the Accreditation Program demonstrates that the practice has chosen to have itself measured by an outside organization against the most rigorous published Standards in the industry.