Hong Kong and Philippines: International accreditation of hospitals

A team of local healthcare workers in Hong Kong has been appointed by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) as qualified hospital accreditation surveyors for assessing the quality and safety of local hospitals. Appointees will have the same professional status as their counterparts in Australia and worldwide. ACHS is an Australian-based, international accrediting agency designated by the pilot scheme on hospital accreditation in Hong Kong as the accreditor. The 21 newly qualified local surveyors will conduct organisation-wide accreditation surveys of pilot hospitals together wi

A team of local healthcare workers in Hong Kong has been appointed by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) as qualified hospital accreditation surveyors for assessing the quality and safety of local hospitals. Appointees will have the same professional status as their counterparts in Australia and worldwide. ACHS is an Australian-based, international accrediting agency designated by the pilot scheme on hospital accreditation in Hong Kong as the accreditor. The 21 newly qualified local surveyors will conduct organisation-wide accreditation surveys of pilot hospitals together with other surveyors from the ACHS.

Dr Gloria Tam comments, “Hospital accreditation is adopted worldwide as a measure to enhance service quality in hospitals and patient safety. The aim of the pilot scheme is to derive a common quality assurance system that will find international recognition for introduction to public and private hospitals in Hong Kong. The participation of public and private hospitals in the scheme will ensure a level playing field for both sectors.” Five public hospitals and three private hospitals have joined the three-year pilot scheme, which is expected to complete by 2011, Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital has become the first Hong Kong hospital to receive accreditation from the ACHS.

Four Philippine medical institutions have signed up with Accreditation Canada International to raise the bar in health care services making health care delivery safer and more effective for Filipinos and foreign patients. Philippine Heart Center, Manila Doctors Hospital, Asian Eye Institute and Clinica Manila have all signed contracts with the organization that specializes in exporting health accreditation expertise worldwide, to participate in the organization’s pilot implementation program in the Philippines.

Working with Accreditation Canada allows the four medical institutions to participate in Qmentum International; the new programme that establishes the highest international healthcare accreditation standards that benefit from more than 50 years of Canadian and international expertise. Wendy Nicklin of Accreditation Canada comments, “The challenge today is that many internationally recognized accreditation bodies exist around the world. While their standards are generally high, their processes are all quite different. The Philippines is a great opportunity to share ideas and develop clear, sustainable benchmarks regarding quality improvement and measurement.”

Accreditation Canada has been active all over the world, and is a partner in current quality improvement initiatives in the Middle East, South America, Europe and the Caribbean. The organization continues to increase its presence in the Americas, North Asia, and Southeast Asia. These two organizations and others are successfully competing with the biggest international accreditor JCI that has no accredited hospitals in Hong Kong and only three in the Philippines. Hospitals argue that smaller competitors are more flexible in adapting standards to local conditions, while JCI has a tendency to impose US standards. This is significant for some US medical tourism agencies that will only offer JCI hospitals, as they are not offering customers the option of treatment in hundreds of hospitals that are accredited by other reputable international accreditors.