HCAC releases second edition of hospital accreditation standards to ensure optimal healthcare services

These standards are the core vehicle by which HCAC's mission is translated in health care practice which aims to foster continuous improvement in healthcare.

According to HCAC bylaws, HCAC is required to submit a new revision of standards every two years. The new revision is dependent on the newly established internationally accepted standards and aims to improve and enhance local hospitals.

These standards are essential in delivering optimal healthcare levels. The bi-annual revison is also in line with the requirements of international accreditor of accrediting organizations - ISQua (International Society for Quality in Health Care).

The revision of the HCAC Hospital Standards (2nd Edition) which were released July 1st , commenced through a process of wide consultation and testing to ensure they support the high quality of patient care that health care providers in hospitals want to deliver, and that our community expects and deserves according to HCA CEO May Abuhamdia.

Dr. Abuhamdia added, "While the development and consultation phase has been very robust, and at a minimum equal to the processes of international peer organisations, the HCAC is ensuring that feedback regarding the process is evaluated to improve the process for the future."

The focus of the revision has been to strengthen the existing standards rather than creating a new framework the new edition builds on the strengths of the previous edition with measurable elements incorporated, key developments in patient safety being identified and added.

The first edition of hospital accreditation standards had 785 standards, while the second edition in 2009 has 443 standards. This change reflects the changing dynamics within the hospital sector and the feedback from the consultative review process whereby some of the previously identified standards were transformed into measurable elements to ensure a greater comprehension by the healthcare sector when applying the standards.

The updates included in the second edition focus on blostering the patient focus that the HCAC hospital accreditation standards are built around. Firstly, it includes measurable performance quality and indicators. These will be used by hospitals in implementing the standards.

Secondly, the new edition includes classification that aims to remove redundancies in the hospital standards by grouping or clustering the standards. This unifies the standards, combining various elements into related categories. The reorganization of clusters also highlights and emphasizes the importance of certain elements and processes.

Thirdly, the new addition provides a glossary for new and old terminologies in both Arabic and English, unifying the jargon and eliminating miscommunication.

Other variations also include: training staff on handling verbal or telephone orders, 'read back' mechanisms and signing orders within 24 hours from the doctor's request, tracking reconciled medication and reviewing medical records. It also emphasizes patient confidentiality and privacy.

The new standard also presses for accountability within the delivery of hospital care by requiring the entire hospital to take responsibility, report and assess an issue rather than condemning a single individual through development of incident reporting systems and processes which serve as the soruce of information for prevention of avoidable harm to patients during delivery of healthcare.

The 2nd edition also incorporated changes in laws in Jordan that are outside the healthcare sector per se but interface with it like the need to report cases of abuse whether they are confirmed or suspected if such victims present to hospitals.

The standards will be taken into effect on July 1st, 2009 whereby any hospital undergoing accredition after this time period will implement the new edition which also applies to previously accredited hospitals when they are due for their reaccreditation. This allows a unified, standardized and consistent change throughout the hospitals.

Mrs. May Abu Hamdia, CEO of HCAC, stated:

"The premise of the HCAC standards is to drive change and build a culture of continuous improvement in healthcare in Jordan. And our role is to galvanize and propel this change by providing tools and solutions to hospitals so they may provide outstanding healthcare."

Mrs. May Abu Hamdia also stated that the process of development and revision is conducted by international and local experts.

She continued to state, "This is a group effort that aims to accomplish a large scale change that involves all types of hospitals- large and small, public and private. While accreditation standards represent an optimal level of health care quality, at the same time the standards need to provide a realistic framework for improving the safety and quality of care. So they absolutely need to be achievable. And that is why the development and review is based on consultation with the healthcare industry."

"This helps ensure they're achievable while still raising the bar. The improvement in healthcare quality that is gained by implementation of the HCAC accreditation standards are experienced by all stakeholders from patients, their families and even employees in the healthcare industry and this will serve to bolster Jordan's position as a leader in health care excellence and with the wide spread implementation of HCAC accreditation standards in hospitals across Jordan this will serve as the spring board to expand HCAC services beyond Jordan," she added.