The origin of healthcare accreditation can be traced more than 100 years back, and accreditation has been a cornerstone of quality assurance for 50-70 years in some countries. ISQua established its International Accreditation Programme (IAP) in 1999, thus setting the global benchmark for high quality accreditation services by offering accreditation of the accreditors. Currently, the IAP is delivered by a separate, but affiliated organisation: The ISQua EEA.
Naturally, accreditation has not remained the same during this period, and it is time now to take a step back to examine its future.
Several current trends will impact the way in which accreditation is conceptualised and delivered.
Trend 1: The concept of quality concept has broadened considerably. Once, quality was mainly viewed from the perspective of the professionals: Quality meant that the services delivered were meeting accepted professional standards. Several layers have been added: Healthcare services must meet the needs of the population as a whole; the service user perspective has been added (person-centred care); most recently, it has been realised that planetary health, ecological sustainability, is a prerequisite for individual health.
Trend 2: Healthcare delivery is changing, shifting from hospitals to primary care settings and even people's homes. Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are accelerating this shift.
Trend 3: Systems understanding is developing – while standardisation will remain an important part of quality assurance, a highly complex system such as healthcare cannot be managed solely by requiring compliance with prescribed procedures.
Trend 4: New technologies not only transform healthcare delivery; they also provide new options for how to perform external evaluation.
In the presentation, we will examine how these trends will influence accreditation and how ISQua EEA, as a thought leader and through the IAP, will facilitate, support, and lead the journey towards the next level of healthcare accreditation.
