The impact of Hospital Accreditation on the patient's Experience of Hemodialysis Department: A Case Study

Abstract

The excellence of hospital Hemodialysis Department (HD) Service is the one of the most relevant items of health care quality perceived by patients and by their families. Patients experience is considered a way of measuring the quality of services provided. Objectives: To study the impact of National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) Accreditation, India on the patients experience of Hemodialysis Department services. Methods: It is a quantitative, descriptive and inferential research based case study in which sample of a population was studied by structured patients experience survey questionnaires (before and after the accreditation) in a private tertiary care hospital at Secunderabad, Telangana State, India to determine its characteristics, and it is then inferred that the population has the same or different characteristics. Significance of Research: It was observed initially before the accreditation that there was a lower patient’s experience rate of the hospital Hemodialysis Department Services, which was affecting the study hospitals’ business. Hypothesis: Null Hypothesis (Ho) and Alternative Hypothesis (H1) were used and tested to compare the before and after impact of accreditation by applying to each question in the questionnaire. Study Design: The closed ended questionnaire was developed considering the Hemodialysis Department Services by incorporating the six dimensions of quality Safe, Timely, Effective, Efficient, Equitable, and Patient-centred (STEEP) and tested prior to implementing. Questionnaires were given to the patients' families for completion upon using the Hemodialysis Department Services two months before and two months after the accreditation. The data were collected in order to cover all three shifts of the Hemodialysis Department Services. Study Population: Simple random sampling method was selected; the researcher had involved all conscious patients (clinical conditions) from all age groups. Data Collections: Primary data were collected from the survey questionnaires. Secondary data were collected from relevant published journals, articles, research papers, academic literature and web portals. Conclusion: The patient’s experience score has improved from before accreditation compared to after accreditation which indicated that the accreditation has a positive impact on the patient’s experience of Haemodialysis Department Services of the study hospital.