Abstract
Background: Standards of Joint Commission International emphasize on the organizational performance level in basic functional domains including patient right, patient care, medical safety and infection control. These standards are focused on two principles: expectations of the actual organizational performance and assessment of organizational capabilities to provide high quality and safe health care services. The aim of this study is to evaluate the possibility of improvement in Access to Care and Continuity of Care for patients (ACC) in teaching hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences during 2012. Data collection was performed using author-designed questionnaire of “Access to Care and Continuity of Care patients” based on JCI standards (2013). A total of 171 questionnaires were sent to 26 hospitals and 154 (90%) questionnaires were successfully completed and used for data analysis. The questionnaire was reviewed by experts and the Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to be 0.967. The effects of the two variables of hospital type (general, specialty) and the number of beds on mean scores of ACC standards and each of its domains were analyzed using T-test or Mann-Whitney test depending on the distribution due to Kolmogorov-Smirnov test result. Results: In general, the mean of ACC standards was found comprehendible and applicable by 82.3 (SD = 11) of the respondents. The highest and lowest mean scores of ACC questions belonged to hospitals H21 (90 ± 6) and H14 (67 ± 12), respectively. There were not any significant effects of hospital type and the number of beds on the ACC scores. Conclusion: There was not any important effect of hospital type and bed numbers on ACC, although there was a 9%-15% possibility of improvement in accreditation scores of ACC standards in hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. A complete accreditation score in this domain didn’t seem achievable in these hospitals. However, it is proposed that future managerial planning of the studied hospitals lead to a complete accreditation score.
Highlights
Assessment of health care services is based on collecting valid and reliable data, which itself depends on choosing appropriate measurement techniques [1,2]
Farzianpour et al / Health 5 (2013) 2110-2115 care, medical safety and infection control. These standards are focused on two principles: expectations of the actual organizational performance and assessment of organizational capabilities to provide high quality and safe health care services [1,2,3,4,5]
Of the total 154 questionnaires, 45.5% were completed in general hospitals (110 to 659 beds, mean number: 399.6 ± 151.7) and 54.5% were completed in specialty hospitals (109 to 451 beds, mean number: 209 ± 126.8). 58.2% of the respondents answered the question “are the ACC standards comprehensible and measurable in your hospitals?” with yes, 30.9% answered partly and 10.7% answered no
Summary
Assessment of health care services is based on collecting valid and reliable data, which itself depends on choosing appropriate measurement techniques [1,2]. Farzianpour et al / Health 5 (2013) 2110-2115 care, medical safety and infection control These standards are focused on two principles: expectations of the actual organizational performance and assessment of organizational capabilities to provide high quality and safe health care services [1,2,3,4,5]. Standards of Joint Commission International emphasize on the organizational performance level in basic functional domains including patient right, patient care, medical safety and infection control. These standards are focused on two principles: expectations of the actual organizational performance and assessment of organizational capabilities to provide high quality and safe health care services. It is proposed that future managerial planning of the studied hospitals lead to a complete accreditation score
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