Question

Accreditation for Hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Your opinion regarding: Challenges (at each one of the different system level)?

Answer 1

Hospital accreditation is a program, where qualified external peer reviewers assess health care organization’s compliance with pre-established performance guidelines. It is a standardized assessment process to evaluate, promote, and to make sure effective patient care and safety. Usually, it is viewed to be an indicator of quality of patient care, which reflect the standards of a health care facility. Accreditation requests a ongoing commitment to learning and quality improvement. In spite of the fact that it is a thorough and difficult procedure, it has pulled great interest in recent years as a comprehensive approach to recover and maintain the quality of health care. Of late, there has been a growing interest in accreditation in developing nations. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is one of the primary nations in the Eastern Mediterranean region to implement health care accreditation measures.

The history of accreditation in KSA links to Year 1994, when Saudi Aramco set up the Saudi Medical Services Organization (SAMSO) standards. All the private and governmental health care centers had to meet SAMSO standards to be acknowledged as referral health care facility for their employees. Afterward, in 2001, the Council for Development of Health Services in the Makkah region was set up, which prompted to the foundation of the Makkah Region Quality Program (MRQP) in 2003. It included certain guidelines to be followed by the Ministry and private hospitals in Makkah region. Way back, in October 2005, Central Board of Accreditation for Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI) was set up by the Ministry of Health (MOH). To work in the Kingdom, the MOH has made it compulsary for all health centers to acquire accreditation from CBAHI. Lots of private and governmental hospitals have looked for stronger commitment by gaining accreditation from various international accreditation bodies including International Standard Organization (ISO), Joint Commission International (JCI), Commission on Accreditation for Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), Australian Council on Health Care Standards (ACHS), Accreditation Canada formerly Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA), National Committee for Health Quality Assurance (NCQA), Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO).

According to MOH site, the total number of health care facilities in the Kingdom is 415 (MOH=249, other governmental hospitals=39, private sector hospitals=127). As all hospitals facilities in KSA have to be accredited by CBAHI, there is great problem to meet this target in the future at both the ends. However very few number of health care facilities have been able to acquire CBAHI accreditation as of now, and for many it is still under process.

In conclusion, in the Saudi health care system, the perception of accreditation is being perceived as a key part in fortifying and empowering quality improvement. Not like CBAHI, which is a mandatory accreditation, numerous health care facilities are looking for global accreditations willingly. It shows that the health centers are voluntarily looking for an independent review of its pledge to safety and quality. Considering the way that accountability is also declared when a firm considers accreditation, this voluntary stride confirms a strong commitment of Saudi hospitals towards quality improvement and upkeep of excellence in health care.