IMTJadmin - 07/03/2008 12:22
An independent, not-for-profit organisation, dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare in Australia through continual review of performance, assessment and accreditation. ACHS-member organisations represent 84% of public beds, 94% of private beds and 87% of all available beds in Australian health services. Established in 1974, after many years of pioneering work from a range of healthcare professionals, including members of the Australian Medical Association, medical colleges and the Australian Hospital (now Healthcare) Association, the ACHS launched its Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program (EQuIP) in 1996. This provides healthcare organisations with a framework for delivering a consumer-centred service focusing on the continuum of care by incorporating systematic external peer review.
In June 2005, ACHS International Pty Ltd was established to deliver accreditation and quality-improvement programmes for healthcare organisations internationally, to offer a comprehensive clinical-indicator programme, to provide consultancies for the development of local accreditation programmes and undertake tailored reporting and analyses. The ACHS has participated in the review of the standards of the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board, Japan Council for Quality Health Care, NHS (England) and the Danish rating system, and regularly liaises with executives from the standards, accreditation and quality-improvement programmes of England, Scotland and Ireland. The ACHS has an exchange programme of surveyors with both Ireland and New Zealand. Most recently, ACHS International has been delivering accreditation services in the Middle East, and in July 2006, established an agreement (along with Quality Healthcare Australia) with the Quality Council of India and the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (also Indian). The agreement allows recognition of ACHS International accreditation in India and ACHS International will support the development of a local accreditation programme.
The ACHS International Quality Program is a four-year quality-improvement programme for healthcare organisations to work towards becoming accredited, and the ACHS assists in their efforts. The key components are the international standards that organisations work towards achieving; a yearly self-assessment of performance against those standards; assistance and feedback on a desktop review of self-assessments; second-yearly on-site surveys by an external, experienced team to provide an independent assessment of performance against the international standards; and the development of a Quality Action Plan (QAP) by the organisation. Visit www.achs.org.au.
