Abstract
BackgroundHealthcare providers’ accreditation is one of the standard means of assuring quality services. This paper examines the pattern of National Health Insurance Scheme accreditation results among private healthcare providers in Ghana.MethodsA cross-sectional quantitative analysis of administrative data from seven National Health Insurance Scheme healthcare provider accreditation surveys over the 2009–2012 period. Data on private healthcare providers that applied for formal accreditation between the study period were retrieved from the NHIS accreditation database using a checklist. Proportions were used to examine pattern of private healthcare provider accreditation results by region, type of care provider, and grade.ResultsOverall, 1600 healthcare providers applied for accreditation over the study years, of which 1252 (78%) passed and were accredited. Majority of healthcare providers that passed the healthcare facility assessment were in Ashanti, Greater Accra, and Western regions, and were significantly higher than those in the other regions. Among the healthcare providers that passed the assessment, pharmacies (22%) and clinics (18%) constituted the largest groups, and were significantly higher than the other types of healthcare providers. Similarly, among those that passed, majority (62%) obtained grade C and D, representing a score of 50–59% and 60–69%, respectively, and were significantly higher than those that obtained the top three grades of A+ (90–100%), A (80–89%) and B (70–79%).ConclusionsMajority of healthcare providers accredited to provide services to the insured are concentrated in three regions of the country, and are mainly pharmacies and clinics. Moreover, substantial proportion of the healthcare providers obtain average scores of the healthcare facility assessment, an indication that these care providers fall below the National Health Insurance Scheme applicable-predetermined standards.
Highlights
Healthcare providers’ accreditation is one of the standard means of assuring quality services
In Ghana, healthcare facility accreditation is a legal requirement for all care providers and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in collaboration with the Health Facility Regulatory Agency (HEFRA) undertakes this exercise [7–9]
Distribution of the application data A total of 1600 applications were received for accreditation between July 2009 and July 2012, of which clinics constituted 356 (22.3%), pharmacies, 328 (20.5%) and chemical shops, 266 (16.6) (Fig. 1)
Summary
Healthcare providers’ accreditation is one of the standard means of assuring quality services. There has been an increased interest in development of accreditation programmes or tools for assessing healthcare providers and ensuring quality of care delivery in the health sector. This is being pioneered by international bodies involved in quality of care assessments to address quality of care challenges associated with increasing population and advancement in healthcare [1–3]. In Ghana, healthcare facility accreditation is a legal requirement for all care providers and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in collaboration with the Health Facility Regulatory Agency (HEFRA) undertakes this exercise [7–9]. According to the NHIA, a total of 3434 healthcare providers have been accredited to provide services to the insured since July 2012 [12]
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