Advocating for Equity Inclusion in the Health Accreditation Plan of the Iranian Health System

Abstract

Over the past three decades, healthcare organizations have prioritized enhancing patient care quality (1). The Institute of Medicine (IoM) has highlighted that most medical errors stem from flawed systems and processes rather than individual actions (2). Consequently, initiatives to improve processes and safety in healthcare have explored various quality improvement (QI) methodologies, including healthcare accreditation programs (1). Accreditation is a systematic process that evaluates a healthcare organization’s compliance against pre-defined peer review standards, which are structural, procedural, and outcomeoriented (3). Assessments are undertaken by various governmental or non-governmental entities, using different modalities in voluntary or mandatory approaches. The scope of accreditation may encompass the entire health organization, individual hospitals, health facilities, only a specialty, or even a sub-specialty (4). Accreditation standards cover diverse domains including clinical governance and patient-centeredness, with the consequences of failing to meet these standards variable across different health system contexts (5). First proposed and implemented by the American College of Surgeons in 1917, accreditation has since undergone numerous transformations and adaptations.