·               Nationally owned

Hospital accreditation is a system of ongoing consensus, rationalization and hospital organization. National ownership is crucial, both to lay the foundation and to maintain, from the beginning, a high degree of integrity and accountability of the national accreditation system.

·               Multi-institutional

The national accreditation body is multi-institutional and includes the most prominent and active players in the public and private sectors of the national health system. Representation from the Ministry of Health is also essential because of the Ministry’s authority and ability to transfer resources as necessary in the accreditation process.

·               Comprehensive

The hospital is not an isolated facility but an integral part of the health system. The EMRO accreditation model focuses on the holistic role and functions of the hospital in a national health system, whether the hospital is public or private. The scope of the model includes the clinical, preventive, promotive and educational functions of hospitals.

·               Incremental

The model includes increasingly complex standards for each hospital service, from an initial “threshold” to more sophisticated levels. These standards represent the expected level of desired care, practice, or methods defined by national experts or professional associations. In each situation, the initial standard is the required minimum limit of quality. No hospital should be below this level after a specified period of time. When the standard for the basic level is met, the next step is to reach the second and third levels, progressively. This promotes an environment of continuous improvement, because there will always be standards of higher complexity to pursue.

·               Integrated

A hospital is not comprised of independent or isolated services. Hospital structures and processes are integrated in such a way that poor functioning in one component interferes throughout and in the final result. For this reason it is necessary that all of a hospital’s services, from the laundry to the operating room, reach at least the basic level standard for the hospital to be accredited.

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