Accreditation in Turkey
The foundations of accreditation work in Turkey were laid for the first time in 2005 with quality assessments in healthcare and service standards for assessments were established. These standards have evolved over time in numerical and structural terms and have been implemented in four different versions. As of 2013, the standards have been restructured according to four basic principles and ten objectives related to Accreditation and as of the fifth version it has taken its final form with the name Accreditation Standards in Health.
The Hospital Seti, which sheds light on the Accreditation System in Health in Turkey, is designed to be understood and interpreted in a common language by all stakeholders, including hospitals. The first part of the SAS-Hospital Set, which contains Standards, Evaluation Measures and Guidelines within the Hospital Set, sets out the basic policies and principles for Accreditation in Health, and the second part contains historical development process and general information regarding Accreditation standards. The third part contains guidelines containing Standard Requirements designed to assist in the understanding and application of standards and assessment criteria.
The SAS-Hospital Set, which includes the basic knowledge of the accreditation process and the requirements to become an Accredited Hospital, is for the benefit of hospitals and all stakeholders to improve the quality of healthcare.
The three main elements of healthcare quality management aimed at by the National Accreditation Structure and the Transition Programme in Health, which was established on the basis of the Accreditation Standards in Health, have been completed.
Quality assessments in health
Accreditation system in healthcare
Quality ratings in health:
SKS is based on the determination of the quality level based on structure, process and output in healthcare institutions. Quality assessments shall be made and reported periodically. The resulting scores can be used for various incentives and sanctions. Obligation is basic. The aim is to include all healthcare institutions in the process.
Accreditation system in health:
SAS is a system for healthcare institutions and organisations to apply on a voluntary basis and to be documented according to their success. The Accreditation System in Health is a system that hospitals can apply to if they want to go beyond the quality level achieved in healthcare with quality assessments and corporate differentiation across the country. It has been established as an incentive for domestic and foreign health tourism due to its internationally approved documentation.
This structure, presented by our Ministry of Health in the field of quality in our country, is critical for the country's health system to sit on solid foundations within the framework of a continuously improved and sustainable concept of service.
Standartların Geliştirilmesi
The foundations of quality studies in health within the Ministry in Turkey date back to 2003, and the concepts of quality and accreditation are among the principles set out in the Transition Programme and the priorities of health policy.
In the Health Transition Programme, emphasis is placed on the planning and supervisory roles of the Ministry of Health, i.e. the structure and practice of a Ministry of Health that sets standards for services, sets rules, oversees the framework of practices and the level of implementation of these standards. The first steps towards the Accreditation System were taken with the principle of quality and accreditation for quality and effective health services, which is the sixth component of the programme.
Accreditation work, which was first publicly stated on the Turkish health agenda in 2003, is the result of a long journey. In 2005, when the first step of this journey was undertaken, for the first time work was started on establishing service standards covering healthcare, including all healthcare processes. The study was initially aimed at creating awareness among managers and employees of quality service delivery and documenting service processes in healthcare institutions by identifying them. Within this framework, 100 quality standards were established in 2005. The Quality Standards in Healthcare were upgraded to 150 in 2007, 354 in 2008 and 388 in 2009 for private hospitals and upgraded to 621 in 2011 with the latest revision and have undergone significant changes and improvements over the years in terms of both the numerical and the content and scope of the standards.
This process, which began in 2005, was carried out gradually because a large number of institutions were not familiar with the concept of quality and accreditation before. The recognition, adoption and awareness-raising of these studies by health institutions and their inevitable contribution to the development of health services has led to the spread of the studies over a period of years.