BHA FPX 4006 Assessment 4 Voluntary Accreditation BHA-FPX4006 Health Care Regulation and Compliance Overview of Accreditation in Health Care

Accreditation in healthcare refers to the process of evaluating and certifying the quality and safety of healthcare organizations and programs (Mate, Rooney, Supachutikul, & Gyani, 2014). This accreditation is typically granted by third-party organizations such as The Joint Commission or the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), which have established standards that healthcare organizations must meet (Mate et al., 2014). While accreditation can be either voluntary or mandatory depending on the organization and the services provided, it plays a crucial role in ensuring high-quality care, improving patient outcomes, and enhancing patient satisfaction (Mate et al., 2014).

Accreditation Requirements

In response to evolving market dynamics and increasing patient expectations, both national and global accreditation agencies have emerged to ensure quality control and enhance patient access to improved medical care (Flodgren, Gonçalves-Bradley, & Pomey, 2016). Accreditation criteria typically encompass various aspects, including organizational purpose, treatment quality, patient safety regulations, financial stability, and compliance with laws and regulations (Flodgren et al., 2016). Healthcare institutions undergo on-site evaluations by accrediting agencies to demonstrate compliance with these criteria (Flodgren et al., 2016).

Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance: Compare and Contrast

Accreditation and regulation are two distinct methods for ensuring performance or quality standards. While accreditation involves third-party evaluation against established standards, regulation focuses on setting and enforcing standards within a sector (Nicklin, Engel, & Stewart, 2021). Accreditation is often voluntary and emphasizes access, cost, efficacy, and evidence-based treatments, whereas regulation is typically mandatory and aims to standardize healthcare delivery and ensure quality care (Nicklin et al., 2021).

How Accreditation Helps Health Care Organizations Meet Regulatory Requirements

Accreditation provides benefits such as on-site inspections, peer reviews, and guidance on organizational and patient care tasks, including governance and leadership (Araujo, Siqueira, & Malik, 2020). By incorporating regulations and evaluation procedures, accreditation helps ensure safe, high-quality services and effective leadership within healthcare organizations (Araujo et al., 2020).

Joint Commission Standards

The Joint Commission establishes patient safety and operational standards annually, focusing on critical aspects such as patient identification, staff communication, medication administration, alarm management, infection prevention, and continuous performance improvement (Bogh et al., 2015). These standards guide healthcare institutions in implementing policies and processes to enhance patient care and reduce errors (Bogh et al., 2015).

Accreditation Best Practices

Maintaining accreditation requires ongoing efforts, including routine surveys, identifying gaps between current practices and accreditation standards, learning from past deficiencies, creating a positive first impression during surveys, and fostering a culture of preparedness among staff (Nicklin et al., 2017).

Other Accrediting Organizations

Organizations such as the American Accreditation Healthcare Commission (AAHC) provide accreditation services to healthcare organizations, promoting quality care, patient safety, and regulatory compliance (Jha, 2018). AAHC accreditation offers various benefits, including demonstrating a commitment to quality care, improving patient satisfaction, enhancing credibility, and facilitating regulatory compliance (Jha, 2018).

Conclusion

Accreditation is essential for healthcare organizations to demonstrate their commitment to quality care, improve patient outcomes, and enhance regulatory compliance. Although it requires an investment of time and resources, accreditation offers numerous benefits, including improved patient safety, satisfaction, and organizational credibility. However, the decision to pursue accreditation should consider the institution’s unique objectives, requirements, and potential advantages and disadvantages (Jha, 2018).

References

Araujo, C. A. S., Siqueira, M. M., & Malik, A. M. (2020). Hospital accreditation impact on healthcare quality dimensions: A systematic review. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 32(8), 531–544. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzaa090

Bogh, S. B., Falstie-Jensen, A. M., Bartels, P., Hollnagel, E., & Johnsen, S. P. (2015). Accreditation and improvement in process quality of care: A nationwide study. International Journal for Quality in Healt