Non-profit community-based health centers operate in a constantly changing and increasingly complex environment. (NACHC)

Underlying the management of this complex organization there is a process to ensure accountability and transparency at every level of the business.

There are codes, regulations, certifications, standards, policies, procedures and best practices governing health care.

RFHC complies with the requirements of no less than 15 national and state agencies. There are chart audits, financial audits and then there are grant reports to 37 funding agencies and foundations.

Virtually since their inception in 1965, health centers' role in improving community health has been extensively evaluated. Health centers have been identified by the Office of Management and Budget as one of the federal government's most successful programs; they have been recognized as a particularly effective means of reducing health disparities, both in the literature and through government reports including a recent General Accounting Office report on reducing health disparities prepared for the Senate Majority Leader.

Center for Health Services Research & Policy, George Washington University Medical Center