Benefits and difficulties in the implementation of hospital accreditation: The voice of quality managers

João Lucas Campos De Oliveira,Laura Misue Matsuda

doi:10.5935/1414-8145.20160009

João Lucas Campos De Oliveira, Laura Misue Matsuda

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5935/1414-8145.20160009

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Abstract

Objective: To learn the perceptions of hospital quality managers about the and that arise from accreditation. Methods: A descriptive, qualitative and exploratory study was developed with five quality managers from hospitals of each of the three levels of national accreditation and one which lost its accreditation. Taped interviews were carried out with the participants, which were guided by the question: Tell us about the and to obtain and maintain hospital accreditation. Transcribed data were submitted to thematic content analysis. Results: Categories of benefits and difficulties related to accreditation were created, each of them with two specific subcategories. Conclusion: In spite of the barriers related to the organizational culture and staff turnover, accreditation was mentioned by managers as beneficial to the quality of management and care because, through the standardization of processes and user centralization, the provision of care services is focused on quality.

Highlights

With the inclusion of machines in work processes, brought by the Industrial Revolution, the management of production of goods and services has become a matter of concern among managers of organizations, since quality assessment, which had been based on inspection, is evaluated on the basis of customers' perceptions, or those who "consume" the product[1].Bearing in mind that consumers of goods and products include customers/users of the service industry, concern over quality and its assessment has been gradually included by health institutions
Quality assessment is a cause for concern among health service managers, and for that reason, it is important that its implementation occurs by means of instruments and systematic techniques, so the managerial process achieves a rational and strategic vision of quality, with decision making oriented toward continuous improvement of processes and products, that is, care services[3]
The promotion of educating measures related to the culture of quality and incentives to the permanence of professionals can be beneficial to the implementation and maintenance of accreditation. This investigation allowed identifying benefits and difficulties that arise from hospital accreditation, from quality managers' point of view.This approach showed that the benefits are related to improvements in management and to the centralization and safety of users, which was considered as benefits to the quality of care

Summary

Introduction

With the inclusion of machines in work processes, brought by the Industrial Revolution, the management of production of goods and services has become a matter of concern among managers of organizations, since quality assessment, which had been based on inspection, is evaluated on the basis of customers' perceptions, or those who "consume" the product[1].Bearing in mind that consumers of goods and products include customers/users of the service industry, concern over quality and its assessment has been gradually included by health institutions. In the contemporary context of quality assessment in health, especially within the scope of hospitals, significant focus has been placed on the accreditation system, which is defined as a systematic, periodic, reserved and sometimes voluntary strategy, whose methods allow for the quality assessment of services according to previously defined standards[2,4]. After such assessment, accreditation may or may not give way to certification. The main objective of this strategy or quality management system is to ensure continued education within all health organizations, it does not represent a watchdog action[4]

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