The accreditation system introduced into the French healthcare system in 1996 has five particular characteristics: (1) it is mandatory for all healthcare establishments; (2) it is performed by an independent government agency; (3) surveyors have to report all instances of non-compliance with safety regulations; (4) the accreditation report is delivered to regional administrative authorities and...

BACKGROUND Evaluations of the impact of hospital accreditation have been previously hampered by the lack of nationally standardized data. One way to assess this impact is to compare accreditation status with other evidence-based measures of quality, such as the process measures now publicly reported by The Joint Commission and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). OBJECTIVES T...

A brief account of the obstacles faced during the introduction of hospital accreditation in Australia is provided, with some insight into the politics of change in health care. Some observations are made concerning critical elements of the accreditation program and the implications for the future of the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards.

* Corresponding author. Chairman of the Accreditation Assessment Committee, Department of Cardiology, Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust at Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8RF, UK. Tel.: C44 208 846 1917; fax: C44 208 746 8182. E-mail address: [email protected] (K.F. Fox). 1 The Accreditation Assessment Committee of the European Association of Echocardiography. 2 President...

BACKGROUND In an effort to improve the quality of care in bariatric surgery, 2 accreditation programs based on volume have been initiated. The aim of this study was to analyze the perioperative outcomes of bariatric surgery performed at accredited vs nonaccredited centers. STUDY DESIGN Patient-level data obtained from the University HealthSystem Consortium for patients who underwent bariatric...

Objective To analyze the perception of nursing teams at a surgical center regarding the process of hospital accreditation, in the evaluative aspects of structure, process, and result. Method The study takes a quantitative and exploratory-descriptive approach, carried out at a university hospital. Result The population consisted of 69 nursing professionals, and the data collection was performed ...