title: [The accreditation program in hospitals: Clalit Health Services experience].
abstract: Accreditation is a process for assessing the healthcare organization, to determine if it meets a set of requirements designed to improve quality of care. White research regarding the benefits of accreditation is lacking, accreditation has been shown to be associated with promoting quality. Accreditation differs from licensing and quality assurance audits such as ISO. In various countries, the accreditation processes have been in operation in heaLthcare organization for decades. In the U.S.A., the Leading organization for accreditation of healthcare organizations is the Joint Commission. Accreditation Canada is the leading authority for accreditation in Canada. The Australian Council for Healthcare Standards and the King's Fund in the United Kingdom are other noted authorities for accreditation. Several European countries have initiated accreditation programs and some are in the process of implementing such programs. In Israel, no national accreditation system exists, although the Ministry of Health conducts audits on specific issues, and for relicensing of hospitals, and the Scientific Council of the Israel Medical Association conducts audits for recognizing a department as suitable for residency. Clalit Health Services is the first healthcare organization in Israel to gain Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation. Three hospitals run by Clalit (Ha'emek, Meir and Soroka) have been accredited by JCI, and another four are in the process of accreditation by JCI. An organized national accreditation scheme in Israel is a challenging process, yet it appears to be a central act for promoting the quality of care in hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Haldor Advanced Technologies Ltd, Israel. edna_bar@haldor-tech.com
authors.forename: Edna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bar-Ratson
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dreiher
authors.forename: Eytan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wirtheim
authors.forename: Lily
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Perlman
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gruzman
authors.forename: Ziv
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
authors.forename: Ehud
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Davidson
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D011787:Quality of Health Care