Introduction:
Accreditation is the global benchmark of a health care organization to safety and quality of care which is demonstrated to the patients and all other stake holders. Rapid changes are taking place in the health system environment in areas like social, economic and technology as result of privatization in health sector, new technology, social policies, globalization etc. raising concern for the quality of healthcare.
Standard setting is only one of the dimensions in the process of accreditation but it also includes analytical, counseling and self improvement dimensions. There are parallel issues around evidence based medicine, quality assurance and medical ethics, and the reduction of medical error is a key role of the accreditation …show more content…
It would also aim to monitor hospital compliance with the standards, prescribed, assist hospitals that need to upgrade their levels and award accreditation to those institutions demonstrating them. [2]
Models of Accreditation
1. Standards Based: Hospitals are rated according to their compliance with different sets of standards or norms regarding facilities, equipment, human resource, space etc
2. Based on the quality assurance programme: Mainly involves implementing a process of accreditation based on quality assurance in those institutions that are striving to improve quality.
3. Based on Citizens Charter: This approach emphasis making hospitals more user friendly, providing information to users about the services available, setting up procedures for redressing grievances etc[2]
Standards
Standards are the corner stone of an accreditation system, it could be national, regional or specific to certain services provided. Standards can be classified into[2]
a. Written and Explicit Standards: Ideally standards should be written and explicit as these allow both the data collection process and the assessment of care to be based on clearly delineated agreed upon bench marks rather than relying on the discretion of …show more content…
The second expected objective for accreditation is to create a platform for quality improvement that will increase efficiency and performance, decrease waste, and improve health outcomes. The third benefit of accreditation is to provide a means of documenting accountability to the public and to policy makers
There are numerous less obvious benefits to be gained if accreditation is implemented in the right way like the improved staff morale and better awareness of each other’s activities, resulting in greater collaboration and coordination within the agencies. Accreditation also provides an effective way to exchange information and share relevant resources with an industry. Another benefit of accreditation is as a path to promote regionalization across public health jurisdiction. Many jurisdictions may not be able to meet comprehensive accreditation standards on their own due to limited staff and other resources, particularly in rural areas or in stats with very large number of small municipal public health departments. Sharing of resources and staff via regional arrangements can increase efficiency and broaden effectiveness without requiring agency mergers or consolidation, which clearly present major political barriers. Accreditation can also improve preparedness, a critical area
Accreditation is the global benchmark of a health care organization to safety and quality of care which is demonstrated to the patients and all other stake holders. Rapid changes are taking place in the health system environment in areas like social, economic and technology as result of privatization in health sector, new technology, social policies, globalization etc. raising concern for the quality of healthcare.
Standard setting is only one of the dimensions in the process of accreditation but it also includes analytical, counseling and self improvement dimensions. There are parallel issues around evidence based medicine, quality assurance and medical ethics, and the reduction of medical error is a key role of the accreditation …show more content…
It would also aim to monitor hospital compliance with the standards, prescribed, assist hospitals that need to upgrade their levels and award accreditation to those institutions demonstrating them. [2]
Models of Accreditation
1. Standards Based: Hospitals are rated according to their compliance with different sets of standards or norms regarding facilities, equipment, human resource, space etc
2. Based on the quality assurance programme: Mainly involves implementing a process of accreditation based on quality assurance in those institutions that are striving to improve quality.
3. Based on Citizens Charter: This approach emphasis making hospitals more user friendly, providing information to users about the services available, setting up procedures for redressing grievances etc[2]
Standards
Standards are the corner stone of an accreditation system, it could be national, regional or specific to certain services provided. Standards can be classified into[2]
a. Written and Explicit Standards: Ideally standards should be written and explicit as these allow both the data collection process and the assessment of care to be based on clearly delineated agreed upon bench marks rather than relying on the discretion of …show more content…
The second expected objective for accreditation is to create a platform for quality improvement that will increase efficiency and performance, decrease waste, and improve health outcomes. The third benefit of accreditation is to provide a means of documenting accountability to the public and to policy makers
There are numerous less obvious benefits to be gained if accreditation is implemented in the right way like the improved staff morale and better awareness of each other’s activities, resulting in greater collaboration and coordination within the agencies. Accreditation also provides an effective way to exchange information and share relevant resources with an industry. Another benefit of accreditation is as a path to promote regionalization across public health jurisdiction. Many jurisdictions may not be able to meet comprehensive accreditation standards on their own due to limited staff and other resources, particularly in rural areas or in stats with very large number of small municipal public health departments. Sharing of resources and staff via regional arrangements can increase efficiency and broaden effectiveness without requiring agency mergers or consolidation, which clearly present major political barriers. Accreditation can also improve preparedness, a critical area