From who does a hospital or other body obtain international healthcare accreditation services?
Organisations based in a number of countries around the world provide international healthcare accreditation services. Among English language-based schemes, they include providers based in the USA, Great Britain, Australia and Canada.
Background philosophy, the approaches utilised, emphasis, degrees of didactisism and willingness to negotiate over standards, make-up of survey teams etc., and, of course, the cost to the hospital etc. can and do vary between these organisations.
The differences between the various providers are such that some potential users may find that one group's approach may suit them better than that of another group.
Accordingly, hospitals and healthcare organisations contemplating seeking accreditation would be advised to "shop around" and find what suits their needs best rather than just adopt the first one to come along.
Apart from quality issues and patient safety, some hospitals and healthcare provider organisations seek accreditation from more than one provider simultaneously, often for reasons of commercial advantage.
- United Kingdom - Trent Accreditation Scheme (TAS)
- United States of America - Joint Commission International (JCI)
- Australia - Australian Commission on Healthcare Standards International (ACHSI)
- Canada - Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA)
Costs incurred by participating hospitals for the various schemes vary enormously. For example, with JCI it can be very difficult to discover precisely what they charge and to make comparisons (see "JCI - how much do they charge hospitals outside of the USA ?", at http://joint-commission.blogspot.com/2008/02/jci-how-much-do-they-charge-hospitals.html).