The Andalusian Agency for Healthcare Quality has obtained the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua)’s accreditation for its Hospitals Certification Programme, thereby granting international recognition to its model
The Hospitals Certification Programme developed by the Andalusian Agency for Healthcare Quality (ACSA), belonging to the Andalusian Department of Health, has received a new recognition valid until 2021 from the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), one of the world’s benchmarks in the field of quality certification.
This recognition means that ISQua approves the quality standards developed by ACSA in the terms of hospitals and certifies that the certification model this body has implemented in Andalusia and Portugal is internationally valid. Today, 28 Andalusian hospitals have passed the certification process with this ACSA programme, including the Hospital of Antequera; La Inmaculada Hospital from Huércal-Overa; nine high-resolution centres belonging to Poniente, Bajo Gualdaquivir and Alto Guadalquivir agencies; the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Aljarafe and several private centres.
This is the fourth recognition the Andalusian Agency for Healthcare Quality has achieved from this international body. Due to this recognition, the Agency becomes one of the three European bodies to hold ISQua’s triple global accreditation. Therefore, ISQua along with recognising its organisational model (the only Spanish body to have this recongition) recognises its Surveyors Training Programme and its Clinical Management Units Certification Programme.
In this latter case, the “Manual of standards for Hospital Certification” has obtained the accreditation by following a specific international model for organisations dedicated to assessment and certification of hospital services. This model is based on six standards that include aspects such as the patient-centred approach, safety and risk assessment, strategic and quality management, development and updating of the standards and self-assessment systems.
The International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), with headquarters in Dublin (Ireland), is a private institution formed by bodies from all over the world that promotes healthcare systems quality. Its accreditation is one of the world’s benchmarks in the field of care quality. In fact, only eight other bodies in the world, three of which are in Europe, hold ISQua’s triple certification. Thus, among the other organizations that have obtained this recognition are the Joint Commission International of the USA and the Accreditation Canada, as well as prestigious organisations from Holland, Denmark or Australia. The entire list can be consulted in the ISQua web site.
This new accreditation consolidates ACSA’s international development, having implementing its quality model in Portugal and having being designated by the European Commission as an Independent Assessment Body of European Reference Network for rare diseases (ERNs). This latter constitutes a milestone that has led to the assessment of over 900 reference units in this type of pathologies in 26 EU Member States.
Andalusian Agency for Healthcare Quality
The Andalusian Agency for Healthcare Quality is a body belonging to the Regional Ministry of Health which is supported by the Fundación Pública Andaluza Progreso y Salud (Andalusian Progress and Health Fundation) aims to strengthen and to promote the Andalusian Quality Model. To achieve this goal, ACSA is established as the certifying body of health centres and units and social services, professional competences, continuing training and web pages, according to the Andalusian Public Health System Accreditation Model, in permanent pursuit of excellence in healthcare and fostering the culture of continuous improvement.
ACSA’s work in the field of promoting quality has been endorsed by national and international benchmarks such as the Entidad Nacional de Acreditación or ENAC (Espanish National Accreditation Entity), the +400 EFQM European Excellence seal or ISQua itself.
