HOSPITAL accreditation has become increasingly significant in the healthcare industry to guarantee quality of medical care and patient safety.
Additionally, it is expected to boost the respective organisation’s medical tourism initiatives.
As a committed healthcare organisation, Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care (RSDH) has voluntarily sought evaluation by the Joint Commission International (JCI) – the recognised global leader in healthcare accreditation – of its two hospitals, Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) and Ara Damansara Medical Centre (ADMC).
Following the exercise, SJMC and ADMC have been accredited to JCI for three years until November 2022, after JCI found that both hospitals meet international healthcare quality standards for patient care and organisation management.
The recognition marks the second JCI accreditation for SJMC, and a first for ADMC.
The JCI assessment is broad and encompasses every aspect of running a hospital, from medical facilities and laboratories to International Patient Safety Goals, patient assessment and care, anaesthesia and surgical care, medication management, patient and family education, quality improvement, infection prevention and control, governance and leadership, facility management, staff qualifications and education, and information managements.
RSDH is now working towards getting its third hospital – ParkCity Medical Centre – accredited, and its evaluation process is expected to begin in August this year.
Why JCI
JCI accreditation is important even though it is on a voluntary basis, according to SJMC and ADMC chief executive officer Trish Hogan.
“It is an elective accreditation. You don’t do it because you have to do it, but we want to do it because it is valuable.
“JCI is recognised globally as a system of managing quality in healthcare that sets the standard worldwide. If you achieve JCI accreditation, it means that the services and standard that you provide at your hospital meet global standards, ” she said.
Hogan said JCI accreditation impacted patients’ expectations when they seek treatment at SJMC or ADMC.
“The patients feel assured that they will receive care of worldwide standards, ” she added.
JCI accreditation would further boost professionalism at the hospitals, she said, adding that it enhanced a positive work attitude among staff who are proud of this achievement.
Hogan said RSDH would continue to apply for JCI accreditation for its hospitals, as this would encourage improvement in delivery of quality medical services, contribute further towards advanced healthcare, and improve better patient outcomes.
“We have different, changing models of care in what we do. We continuously monitor the standard of quality (medical care and healthcare services). We don’t only say that we provide quality care but we actually know that we do, ” she added.
For instance, she said SJMC upholds its stature as a centre of excellence, especially on cancer services, with 245 active specialists in attendance, and this gave confidence to patients and their families on the hospital’s undertaking.
SJMC and ADMC’s JCI accreditation contributed to medical tourism and job creation, added Hogan.
“About 90% of (foreign) patients come from Indonesia, with the rest from China, Cambodia, Maldives and Australia. We are also seeing an increase in patients from Myanmar, ” she said, adding that there had been an influx of Singaporean patients.
RSDH’s tag line “People caring for people” is a reflection of its establishments where the medical professionals’ personal interaction with patients cultivates relationships built on trust.
“We do regular evaluation to ensure we meet the highest standard on quality of care. We don’t see quality as cost, but necessity and benefit, ” she added.
Giving their best
“Healthcare organisations around the world want to create environments that focus on quality, safety and continuous improvement, ” said JCI accreditation executive director Kristie Ryan.
“Accreditation meets this demand by stimulating continuous, systematic improvements in an organisation’s performance, and the outcomes of patient care.
“The community should be proud that RSDH hospitals have made a commitment to quality and safety, ” said Ryan.
RSDH Group chief executive officer Gregory Scott Brown said both hospitals had sought the accreditation because they wanted to provide the best care possible for patients.
“We want to assure our patients and caregivers that the treatment and advice they receive are indeed world-class, ” he said, adding that it was a major achievement to receive more than one accreditation within the same month.
The accreditation follows JCI’s on-site evaluation of both hospitals in November last year, which was conducted by a team of international healthcare experts.
RSDH is equally owned by Sime Darby Bhd and Ramsay Health Care.
SJMC, which is a licensed 444-bed multidisciplinary private hospital and ADMC, a licensed 220-bed multidisciplinary private hospital, have also been accorded three years’ full accreditation by the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health that promotes and improves safety and quality in the provision of healthcare services in the country.
Presently, there are 12 JCI-accredited hospitals in Malaysia.
Source: The Star