Relationship between Health Care Organization Management Standards of the Joint Commission International and Health Tourism in Selected Hospitals in Tehran

Introduction: Health tourism is an organized travel we make from where we live to another place to keep, regain, and improve physical and mental health. It can be also a national strategy to improve national income and some believe that it can be an integral part of national security. The present study is an attempt to determine the relationship between observance of the standards of international Joint Commission regarding structural-centered fields and number of health tourists attracted to a country. Methods: The study is a descriptive-analytical work of applied type, which was conducted as cross-sectional work in 2012 on some of Tehran-based hospitals. Sampling was carried out randomly and for data gathering the standard checklist of the commission was employed. The tool covered six Health Care Organization Management Standards. Reliability and validity of the checklist have been ascertained by previous works. Data was collected through observing, interviewing, and document reviewing. For data analyses, descriptive and deductive statistics were used in SPSS16. Results: Observance of the standard regarding its different aspects is not equal as regarding infection prevention and control (3.48) we found highest mean point and the lowest position was obtained by improvement of quality and patients’ safety (2.52). A relatively positive correlation (r=0.114) was observed between observance of the standards of the commission and attracting health tourists. Conclusion: Given the results obtained, it is notable that the development and implementation of an accreditation system for health services centers nationwide, which is aimed to improve quality of health services in light of the standards of International Joint Commission is helpful in attracting more health tourists.