title: Preparation for hospital accreditation: an efficient and practical approach.
abstract: Hospital accreditation has been criticized for its emphasis on structure and documentation. Less attention is given to the clinical process and outcomes of care. How can the accreditation process become a meaningful part of day-to-day hospital management? Four approaches are discussed. (1) The development of industrial type quality assurance programmes that detect negative patient outcomes and improve patient care. (2) The appointment of a Quality Assurance/Accreditation Coordinator with appropriate authority. (3) The establishment of an effective Quality Assurance/Accreditation Committee. (4) The continuous review of accreditation standards through normal committee function and department review, and trial surveys. Such strategies will enable hospital accreditation to develop beyond a paper exercise and to provide the foundation for excellence in health care delivery.
authors.affiliation: Wimmera Base Hospital, Horsham, Victoria.
authors.forename: P T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wolff
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation / Q000379:methods*; D001315:Australia; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D018024:Peer Review, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D011367:Professional Staff Committees / Q000458:organization & administration; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*