BENEFITS OF ACCREDITATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Abstract

Background: Accreditation is widely regarded as a reliable approach to assess and improve the quality of medical care. Nonetheless, its effect on efficiency and production remains ambiguous. This review aimed to gather and examine data pertinent to the impact of hospital accreditation on patient outcomes. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, MEDLINE (OvidSP), CDSR, CENTRAL, ScienceDirect, SSCI, RSCI, and SciELO, along with other pertinent databases, employing key phrases associated with our research inquiry. All expert-reviewed quantitative studies published in the past two decades were incorporated. Two reviewers independently evaluated the primary articles, examined the complete texts of potentially pertinent studies, extracted the requisite data, and assessed the methodological quality of the studies included in the analysis utilizing a validated tool, all in compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Upon examining the data regarding the effects of accreditation, six main themes of influence emerged. Results: We reviewed 17,830 studies and identified only 76 empirical research that examined the impact of certification, which matched our criteria for inclusion. Each study employed a distinct methodology for data collection. Our findings indicate that accreditation positively and enduringly influences hospitals' safety cultures, process-related performance metrics, operational efficiency, and patient length of stay. Accreditation had no association with employee satisfaction, patient satisfaction and experience, or the 30-day hospital readmission rate. The presence of inconsistent findings rendered it difficult to make definitive conclusions regarding the impact of certification on healthcare-associated mortality and infections. Conclusion: Evidence indicates that a hospital's overall performance may enhance with adherence to accrediting criteria. This is merely one of numerous potential advantages. Despite the lack of conclusive data establishing a direct correlation between hospital certification and enhanced performance or patient safety, hospitals continue to adopt accreditation systems. To institutionalize and sustain performance improvements, it is recommended to update accreditation and offer incentives for its attainment.