Impact of Accreditation on the Quality of Healthcare Services: a Systematic Review of the Literature

“The assessment of quality of included studies was performed using the US Preventive Services Task Force approach (Table 1).(5)We could not assess and compare the quality”

“In this study, 5 non-accredited hospitals achieved accreditation during the study.(19) In a large cross-sectional survey conducted in Japan over 2 consecutive years (n=638 hospitals), the overall infection control performance score was significantly associated with accreditation status.”

“Another recently published review of the literature related to accreditation had several limitations.(4) It was not limited to health services accreditation, but also included heterogeneous types of accreditation programs, including medical education accreditation programs.”

“Accreditation programs spread all over the world in the 1990s.(3) There are other forms of systems used worldwide to regulate, improve and”

“In this study, the mortality rate was lower post AMI in accredited hospitals than in nonaccredited hospitals.(16) In a cross-sectional survey conducted in the US in 1988 (n=5172), 1990 (n=5140), 1995 (n=5116), 2000 (n=5150) and 2005 (n=5146), methadone maintenance facilities accredited by JCAHO were more likely to adh…”

“02).(12) In a large data analysis of 216 state psychiatric hospitals, there was a weak relationship between accreditation and indicators of quality of care.”

“Accredited centers received greater satisfaction ratings than nonaccredited centers.(28) In a large survey of 398 cognitive rehabilitation therapy facilities in the US, there were no significant differences in the organization and delivery of cognitive rehabilitation therapy in facilities accredited by Commission on A…”

“In a large analysis of the Zambia Hospital Accreditation Program (n=79 hospitals), accreditation was associated with significant improvement in compliance with standards in the overall scores, and in 7 out of 13 important functional areas.(7) In a longitudinal study of 23 hospitals in Australia, hospitals were monitor…”

“In a large cross-sectional survey conducted in Japan over 2 consecutive years (n=638 hospitals), the overall infection control performance score was significantly associated with accreditation status.(20) In a retrospective analysis at 24 accredited trauma centers in the United States (n=88 723 patients), accreditatio…”

“In an analysis of data from three Canadian trauma centers, over 7 years, survival of blunt trauma patients at the accredited hospitals was statistically better than survival at nonaccredited hospitals.(30) A large analysis of cervico-vaginal cytology showed a modest overall positive predictive value of positive cytolo…”

“A substantial number of the plans in the bottom decile of quality performance were accredited, suggesting that accreditation does not ensure high-quality care.(10) In an analysis of data from 742 hospitals using 7 performance measures against JCAHO accreditation scores, Joint Commission measures were found to be not c…”

“In this study, there was a significant underestimation of the degree of stenosis of carotid arteries by non-accredited laboratories among 11% of patients.(27) In a self-”

“There was significantly greater compliance with eight acute myocardial infarction (AMI) core measures at accredited hospitals compared with non-accredited hospitals.(26) A retrospective analysis (n=178) reviewed the findings of carotid duplex ultrasound scanning performed at accredited and non-accredited laboratories…”

“Patients treated at accredited centers (n=3059) were significantly more likely to receive aspirin and B-blockers within 24 hours than patients at non-accredited centers (n=30 179).(25) In another large retrospective analysis conducted in the US (n= 4197 hospitals), the rate of percutaneous coronary intervention was gr…”

“In a large cross-sectional survey of acute care hospitals (n=85), the number of newly employed full-time or part-time infection control nurses (ICNs) and the number of new infection control service (ICS) organizations increased sharply from 1994 to 1996 with the accreditation of medical care services in 1995, and then…”

“In this study, there was also a reduction in unexpected hospitalizations in patients undergoing cataract surgery (n=245 154; P=.08) in accredited ASC compared to non-accredited ASC.22 In a large cross-sectional survey of acute care hospitals (n=85), the number of newly employed full-time or part-time infection control…”

“The improvement on the Systematic Development Scale was significantly higher in accredited than in non-accredited units.(9) In an analysis of the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) and Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) databases, accredited plans had higher HEDIS scores, but similar or…”

“In a large cross-sectional survey of outpatient substance abuse treatment programs conducted in the US (n=1137), JCAHO accreditation was positively associated with two elements of treatment comprehensiveness: the percentages of clients receiving physical examinations and mental health care.(18) In an American prospect…”

“The authors found a positive effect of accreditation on improving the process of care and clinical outcomes [17].”

“Previously published accreditation reviews included the impact of specialty [30] or disease-specific [34] ac-”