NBAOS - National Board of Accreditation for Orthotic Suppliers

Surveyor FAQ

• How are surveyors chosen?
• How will I be informed of the final decision re: my status as a surveyor?
• Will I be an employee of NBAOS?
• Why did I sign a Confidentiality Agreement?
• Why did I sign a Conflict of Interest form?
• As a contracted service for NBAOS, who will oversee my responsibilities
and serve to answer my questions?
• What if I have questions regarding the completion of a survey?
• How will I receive my survey assignments?
• How do I submit my completed surveys to NBAOS?
• How will I receive feedback on the surveys I perform?
• Can I be called as a witness by CMS?
• What is my liability as a surveyor?
• Disciplinary Action
• Gift Policy
• What happens if the facility is unprepared for the survey?
• How long can I expect a survey to take?
• What are the steps for being paid upon completion of an on-site survey? H ow much will I be paid?

How are surveyors chosen?
The application to be a surveyor can be found at NBAOS.org. These applications will be graded by a 5 member committee comprised of both occupational therapists and physical therapists. The applicant should:

Be an occupational therapist or physical therapist, currently licensed, registered or certified, and in good standing in the state which the therapist practices
Have a minimum of five years as a practicing therapist
No malpractice action or criminal history
Possess competency and/or experience in orthotic fabrication
Possess computer and Internet knowledge with access to a personal computer
Recognize the importance of and signs “conflict of interest” and “confidentiality guidelines” documents
Successfully complete the surveyor training program
Accept the job duties outlined in the surveyor job description
Comply with stated deadlines
Have sufficient flexibility to schedule surveys within the required 60 day window
Be organized and detailed
Possess excellent communication skills
Be in good standing with CMS

Once chosen, the applicant will receive notification from NBAOS and will be sent the surveyor training manual CD to begin the process of final acceptance as a surveyor. Review of the training manual and notification to NBAOS of the surveyor’s readiness to take the surveyor assessment should be performed within 30 days from receipt of the training manual CD.

After you have received and reviewed the CD training manual for surveyors, you should contact NBAOS for the surveyor assessment within the 30 day time period. It consists of 94 multiple choice/true-false questions as well as 2 short answer essay questions. The quiz is “open book” and should take less than an hour to complete. You will have 15 days to complete and return this assessment to the surveyor training committee chair.

How will I be informed of the final decision re: my status as a surveyor?
Once the surveyor assessment is completed and returned to NBAOS for grading, you will be informed of your final status as a surveyor via email within 10 business days.

Will I be an employee of NBAOS?
No, all surveyors will be contracted with NBAOS and will receive a 1099 for the prior year of work. All survey contracts will be for two year renewable terms. A term can be renewed based on performance.

Why did I sign a Confidentiality Agreement?
It is essential that every piece of information provided by a facility be kept in complete confidence. Each facility has established proprietary information that must not be disclosed to other individuals or utilized in your own business practice. The confidentiality agreement mandates that you will not breach this confidentiality. It requires that you not give verbal or written information acquired during your onsite survey to anyone other than NBAOS staff.

Information shared with anyone other than NBAOS staff or utilized outside the realm of the survey is grounds for immediate dismissal as a NBAOS surveyor. Legal action may be taken against the surveyor by NBAOS and the facility.

Why did I sign a Conflict of Interest form?
The Conflict of Interest form is signed by surveyors to ensure the surveyors do not conduct a survey where there may be real or perceived intent to prevent or intentionally not accredit a competing facility. Should the facility serve as significant competition for referrals, the surveyor must not perform a site survey at the facility.

In addition, the form is signed to state that a surveyor agrees they will disclose any conflict of interest to NBAOS and they will not perform a survey if they have any financial, personal, or professional interest in the facility which may tempt the surveyor to not adhere as strictly to the NBAOS survey requirements.

As a contracted service for NBAOS, who will oversee my responsibilities and serve to answer my questions?
All qualified surveyors will be selected and supervised by the Director of Surveyors
(DOS) and the Surveyor Review Committee (SRC). The DOS and SSC will select the qualified surveyors through grading of the surveyor application. The DOS, with appointed individuals as needed, will assign and/or monitor survey assignments, give any needed feedback to surveyors regarding performance, and carry out all annual performance evaluations. If a surveyor has a complaint or issue with the SSC it should be directed via email to the DOS. Any complaints or issues with the DOS should be directed to the NBAOS president or NBAOS board via email.

What if I have questions regarding the completion of the survey?
If you have any questions regarding a survey, please contact NBAOS. Every attempt is being made to ensure that you have adequate knowledge to appropriately perform your function. Yearly retraining will be performed to help you stay abreast of current regulations.

How will I receive my survey assignments?
You will receive your survey assignments through email. This means you must have access to a personal computer. You are responsible to inform NBAOS if and when you can perform this on-site survey within 10 business days from receipt of the assignment. The survey must be conducted within 60 days from the time the application was received. Surveys are unannounced to the facility but you will know the facilities hours of operation in order to plan your survey date. If NBAOS is not contacted by the surveyor within the 10 day requirement, another surveyor will be contacted to complete the assignment.

How do I submit my completed surveys to NBAOS?
Once the survey has been completed the surveyor will email their completed survey to NBAOS. Surveys must be submitted within 2 business days. It is mandatory that all surveyors have access to a personal computer. No compensation or reimbursement of expenses will be given until NBAOS has received the completed reports.

How will I receive feedback on the surveys I perform?
Once the survey has been completed the facility will receive a NBAOS Accreditation Satisfaction Survey form to complete. This form will give feedback to NBAOS regarding the survey process and the surveyor. The Director of Surveyors will then be able to give the surveyor specific feedback both positive and negative regarding his/her performance. Consistent negative feedback may require the surveyor to undergo additional training to rectify performance.

The above forms, along with information from the surveyors file and interactions with the NBAOS board and staff, will be the basis for an annual performance review. This review will determine if NBAOS will continue to utilize a surveyor or place a surveyor on a three month probation until the areas of concerns are rectified.

Can I be called as a witness by CMS?
Yes. When you signed the surveyor agreement, you also agreed to be available for
testimony by CMS. Travel costs and a per diem will be paid if you must travel for
testimony.

What is my liability as a surveyor?
NBAOS is a 501(c)6 organization and has both D&O (directors and officers) and general liability insurance. This insurance protects the surveyors from possible legal action a facility might attempt to impose upon a surveyor. The only way a surveyor could be faced with legal action would be if the surveyor was intentionally negligent in performing the duties of the surveyor and/or intentionally influenced the outcome of a survey by inappropriately granting or denying accreditation or re-accreditation. Thus, so long as the surveyor is always acting in good faith and complying with the guidelines established by NBAOS (including the confidentiality and conflict of interest guidelines), the surveyor is protected by the insurance held by NBAOS.

Disciplinary Policy
Each NBAOS surveyor will undergo an annual performance evaluation. This
performance evaluation will be conducted by the Director of Surveyors or the Surveyor Review Committee and will be conducted within 30 days of the annual anniversary of the surveyor. The evaluation will be done on the NBAOS Surveyor Performance Guidelines form. Information to complete this form will be taken from the NBAOS Accreditation Satisfaction form, the surveyors’ file located at NBAOS headquarters, and through personal interactions with NBAOS board and staff.

The surveyor will be given a copy of the performance evaluation with recommendations via email. A conference call with the Director of Surveyors or one of the review committee members will be set up within 5 days if any major concerns are indicated on the evaluation. The surveyor will have 2 business days to print out, sign, and return the performance evaluation via fax or mail to NBAOS headquarters.

A surveyor may be placed on probation for 3 months or terminated at the discretion of the NBAOS selection committee if more than 2 “does not meet standards” are received on the performance evaluation. If the issues are not rectified within the 3 month period the surveyor contract may be terminated. The surveyor will be notified in writing if placed on probation or terminated.

Gift Policy
NBAOS surveyors, board members, or staff will not accept any gifts, monetary or
otherwise, from any persons associated with a facility being surveyed by NBAOS. All gifts offered must be declined and the surveyor, board member, or staff must inform the NBAOS director that a gift was offered. Any gift accepted by a surveyor, board member or staff may be grounds for immediate termination from the position being held by that individual. In addition, the surveyor may not accept meals or go to lunch with the staff from the survey site if offered.

What happens if the facility is unprepared for the survey?
The facility will be instructed in the application letter to prepare for the survey by getting relevant forms together for the survey, including letters of incorporations and certifications, personnel files, chart audits, etc. If they can produce the mandatory documents before the completion of the survey, you can continue with the survey at that time. If they are not produced before you have completed the survey, however, the facility will not pass and will need to apply and pay for an additional survey. If the surveyor feels that they are unable to continue with a timely survey secondary to a significant lack of preparation by the facility, the survey may be discontinued. Every attempt should be made to continue with the survey if possible.

How long can I expect a survey to take?
Each survey will be different, but we expect them to take between 2 and 4 hours. NBAOS will provide the facilities with sample forms and a copy of the survey requirements, and we hope that they will be well prepared before they send in the application fee and begin the 60 day time period for completion of the survey.

What are the steps for being paid upon completion of an on-site survey?
How much will I be reimbursed for the survey?
Surveyors will sign a contract which outlines the compensation for conducting NBAOS surveys. Selected surveyors will receive $250.00 per completed survey of a main facility and $125.00 for each satellite facility within a 30 mile radius from the main facility.

Any facility outside that 30 mile radius will require the facility to pay additional travel costs. The surveyor will be reimbursed for services within 30 days following the completion of all site survey documents completed and filed with NBAOS. The surveyor will receive a 1099 form for federal and state tax purposes no later than January 31 of the year following the contracted services. Reimbursement for incidentals is as follows:

Mileage: All surveyors will be reimbursed at the current federal employee mileage reimbursement rate per mile when driving more than 30 miles from their home to reach the main office. The surveyor will be reimbursed for mileage when traveling to additional satellite locations from the main office as well.
Meals: Meals will be reimbursed up to $40.00 per day when an overnight stay is required. Receipts will be required to be reimbursed for meals.
Hotel: All surveyors will be reimbursed for hotel when an overnight stay is required. Surveyors are expected to stay at moderately priced hotels or motels. The reimbursement allowance is up to $ 125.00 per night.
Airfare: Air travel to a site may be necessary and such arrangements must be made through NBAOS.

In order to receive reimbursement for expenses an expense report (on NBAOS expense form) must be submitted, along with all receipts within 30 days from completing the survey. No compensation and reimbursements will be given until all final reports from the survey have been submitted to NBAOS. No reimbursements will be given if an expense report, along with receipts, is not submitted within a six month period. Expenses will be reimbursed within 30 days of receipt of the reimbursement form.