Health Certification in Canada: The key role of Accreditation Canada International
In a world where healthcare systems are facing unprecedented challenges, from the integration of artificial intelligence to the management of workforce shortages and global health risks, the quest for quality and safety is more key than ever. At the heart of this quest is a major Canadian player with global reach: Accreditation Canada (AC). As a leader in improving the quality of care, AC and its affiliated organizations, the Health Standards Organization (HSO) and the Institute for Healthcare Quality Management (IQMH), are working to realize an ambitious vision: safer care for a healthier world. This article explores in depth the role, programs and impact of Accreditation Canada, an institution that is shaping the future of healthcare certification in Canada and internationally.
What is Accreditation Canada and its global mission?
Founded over 65 years ago, Accreditation Canada is much more than just an assessment organization. It is an organization that empowers healthcare players around the world to engage in continuous quality improvement. Its mission is to support health and social service organizations in their efforts to comply with rigorous national and global standards.
The Accreditation Canada ecosystem rests on three pillars:
- The Healthcare Standards Organization (HSO ): As Canada's only standards development organization (SDO) dedicated entirely to healthcare, HSO develops standards, assessment programs and solutions that are now adopted in over 12,500 facilities on five continents. These global standards are recognized by international bodies such as the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua).
- Accreditation Canada (AC): AC is the operational arm that implements these standards in the field. Through specialized accreditation and certification programs, AC helps organizations assess their performance, identify gaps and improve the delivery of safe, high-quality care for specific populations and conditions.
- Institut de Management de la Qualité de soins de Santé (IQMH): Specializing in the safety and accuracy of laboratory tests and diagnostic services, the IQMH ensures that medical biology laboratories meet the highest standards of service, a fundamental element of safe clinical care.
Together, these three entities collaborate to offer a comprehensive approach to quality improvement, touching over 50 million lives through their initiatives.
Strategy 2022-2026: Towards safer care
Faced with a rapidly changing healthcare landscape, Accreditation Canada and HSO have defined a clear strategy for the period 2022-2026, guided by a shared vision: "Safer care. A healthier world". This strategy is based on three fundamental priorities that structure all their actions.
1. Improving the safety of users and the workforce: This is the cornerstone of their mission. Safety is considered holistically, including physical, psychological and cultural dimensions. The aim is twofold: to enable organizations to provide safe care, and to encourage the adoption of standardized practices to reduce harm. This involves not only accreditation, but also the creation of a sustainable safety culture within facilities.
2. Advancing integrated care: The healthcare systems of the future must be interconnected and coordinated to follow the user's journey, not the other way around. AC is committed to promoting integrated, person-centered healthcare systems, where partnerships transcend organizational boundaries to deliver seamless, safe care, especially at the highest-risk transitions in care.
3. Improve community health: Health is more than the absence of disease. It encompasses a commitment to equity and overall well-being. This priority aims to strengthen standards for equitable and sustainable care, and to address the specific needs of vulnerable populations such as indigenous peoples, the elderly and those with mental health problems and addictions.
To achieve these ambitions, Accreditation Canada relies on powerful levers for change: evidence-based standards, high-impact assessment programs, and training to build local capacity.
The certification and accreditation process: a continuous improvement approach
Accreditation by Accreditation Canada is much more than a one-off assessment; it's a strategic partnership aimed at day-to-day excellence. Recognized as one of the world's leading accreditation bodies, AC offers an unrivalled portfolio of programs and services in over 40 countries.
In 2023, AC's expert surveyors carried out over 1,500 assessments leading to accreditations and certifications across the global healthcare ecosystem. To support this growth, 100 new surveyors were trained in Canada, Italy and Kuwait, reinforcing AC's ability to meet local needs with local expertise.
AC's approach moves away from the traditional "shock" approach. Thanks to innovative digital tools and the forthcoming launch of the Qmentum GlobalTM program, the focus is on continuous improvement. Requirements are distributed throughout the accreditation cycle, and short-notice on-site assessments are carried out to promote a culture of excellence on a daily basis. This program will provide customers with updated standards, customized manuals and new tools for self-assessment and quality improvement planning.
One VA visitor sums up the importance of this process perfectly: "Accreditation enables organizations to strive for excellence, which improves the experience for the people they serve, the users. That's why accreditation is so important.
Focus on user and workforce safety
Safety is the number one priority. Accreditation Canada is addressing this issue on several fronts, in line with the World Health Organization's World Plan of Action for Patient Safety.
Reinforcing standards and practices
In 2023, almost 20 new or updated standards and Required Organizational Practices (ROPs) were published. These updates cover critical areas such as :
- Clinical governance and suicide prevention.
- Long-term care and mental health and addiction.
- Essential ROPs on medication management, hand hygiene, falls and infection prevention.
For example, the now more rigorous Distinction - Stroke program focuses on outcomes and quality measurement to recognize excellence in integrated stroke care systems.
Workforce safety: A prerequisite for quality care
AC recognizes that there can be no quality care without a healthy, competent workforce. In the face of a global workforce crisis marked by burnout and violence, AC is taking concrete action. The HSO Universal Workforce Survey is a unique tool that measures quality of work life and safety culture. Tested with over 10,000 respondents, the survey generates data that can be used to improve staff well-being, an issue directly linked to the quality of care provided. Its worldwide deployment will enable comparisons and the sharing of best practices to collectively tackle this crisis.
Innovation for integrated care
Integrated care aims to ensure that services follow the person, creating a seamless and secure pathway across the continuum of care. AC and HSO are at the forefront of this transformation, notably through their global standard on Person-Centered Integrated Health Systems.
This standard offers evidence-based guidance, organized around 10 guiding principles, to guide organizations through their integration journey, whether in rural or urban settings. Tools such as theCare Trajectories Implementation Tool help interdisciplinary teams break down this complex journey into manageable steps.
Technological innovation is also a driving force behind this integration. In 2023, AC awarded its highest level of accreditation to Saudi Arabia's first fully virtual hospital, the SEHA Virtual Hospital (SVH). This involved the co-creation of a customized, fully virtual assessment methodology, demonstrating AC's flexibility and adaptability to respond to new models of care.
Promoting equity and healthy communities
Accreditation Canada's commitment extends beyond hospital walls to address the social determinants of health and promote equity.
Cultural security and humility
In collaboration with Aboriginal partners such as the First Nations Health Authority, AC led a project to advance cultural safety and humility. This work tested a standard in British Columbia and confirmed the need for a National Standard of Canada to address systemic racism against Aboriginal people in healthcare.
Improving care for the elderly and mental health
In response to the tragic lessons of the pandemic, HSO released Canada's new National Standard for Long-Term Care in January 2023. This standard, which sets a new benchmark for high-quality, resident-centered care, received international attention and was featured in a World Health Organization report.
Similarly, two new National Standards of Canada on Mental Health and Addiction Services and Suicide Prevention have been published. They provide a roadmap for person-centred, safe and coordinated care in this crucial sector.
Accreditation Canada's international impact
With a presence in over 40 countries and 12,500 facilities, Accreditation Canada is a leading global player. The organization is recognized for its personalized, people-centred, improvement-oriented approach, which is adapted to local needs.
In 2023, AC expanded its programs in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Special projects, such as the one with the Dubai Health Authority to transform ambulance services, show how AC goes beyond traditional accreditation to improve the overall performance of healthcare systems. In Morocco, a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Health aims to build capacity for quality improvement on a national scale.
The impact of accreditation is tangible. A case study published by Qatar's Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC ) showed how the accreditation process with KT led to the creation of a strong framework for user engagement, integrating their perspectives into the very design of health services.
Global leadership and future prospects
As a leader, Accreditation Canada has a responsibility to anticipate change and prepare its partners for the future. The organization actively participates in major international forums, and collaborates with organizations such as the WHO, the World Bank, and the Standards Council of Canada on forward-looking topics such as artificial intelligence.
Leslee Thompson, CEO of HSO and Accreditation Canada, has launched a series of articles to define what "Health Quality 5.0" could be, a new approach adapted to current challenges such as the workforce crisis and climate change.
Our ambitions for the coming years are clear:
- Launch the Qmentum Global program and its new tools.
- Expand the Universal Workforce Survey worldwide.
- Update 16 ROPs, including those on violence prevention in the workplace.
- Begins its role as the quality assessment body for over 900 community surgical and diagnostic centers in Ontario.
- Publish new national standards for home care and virtual services.
In conclusion, Accreditation Canada and its affiliates are not simply evaluators, but catalysts for change. They are building a global movement for better quality care, bringing together thousands of specialists, visitors, partners and people with lived experience. Quality, as the organization reminds us, is a team sport. By uniting everyone's efforts and providing the tools for continuous improvement, Accreditation Canada does more than just issue certifications; it actively contributes to building a future where safer care and a healthier world are a reality for all.
