Ministry of Health Recognizes ISQua Hospital Accreditation Agencies

Minister of Health Regulation No. 1195/MENKES/SK/VIII/2010 on International Standard Hospital Accreditation Agencies (‘Regulation’) was recently issued in order to improve the quality of Indonesian  hospitals through accreditation in accordance with international standards.

The Regulation, in Section 2, recognizes hospital accreditation agencies that have been accredited by the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua). And requires such agencies, in carrying out the accreditation, to refer to the standards and procedures that have been set by ISQua.

ISQua is an international umbrella organization for accreditation agencies that provide international healthcare accreditation. As such, it does not itself survey or accredit hospitals, instead it accredits agencies that carry out such surveying and accreditation of hospitals. In doing this, it provides patients with the assurance that the accreditation agency that accredited a given hospital followed the set out standards of assessment in evaluating and accrediting the hospital.

As for the hospitals that have been accredited by such accreditation agencies, Section 4 permits them to state that they have been ‘Internationally Accredited,’ and sets out how this fact can be displayed (after or under the hospital name, in a smaller typeface, listing the accrediting organizations). With Section 5 providing examples of the displays of such international accreditation.

The passage of the Regulation follows calls earlier this year by President Yudhoyono for the establishment of more internationally accredited hospitals in Indonesia. Although the regulation does not address the quality of healthcare issues that are involved in reaching such standards, it does provide recognition to accreditation agencies and therefore begins to create a framework within which hospitals can strive for, and be recognized, for the quality of healthcare that they provide.

What the regulation lacks, however, is a sanctions regime that would address the misleading, false, or otherwise inappropriate use of accreditation claims by hospitals, or the unjustified issuance of international accreditation by the recognized accreditation agencies.

The Regulation has been in force since 23 August 2010.