What is contained in the Report?

The Report gives insight into the accreditation performance of the majority of (nearly 700) health care entities Australia wide, with information on areas of achievement as well as areas requiring attention. Expert peer reviewers have assessed in depth, the ability of organisations to deliver quality care while minimising risks to consumers.

The Report also contains a wealth of information on clinical indicator trends.

What is the value of the Report?

The external review of health services provided by the accreditation process is one of the most valuable quality improvement and accountability mechanisms for any health system. The ACHS is the principal provider of accreditation across Australia and believes that feedback to the Australian public of the results of this process is essential.

This Report is invaluable for establishing comprehensive national benchmarks (which have not existed before). We will now be able to track performance in accreditation over time. This type of measurement assists in large scale improvement through supporting an individual organisation’s capacity for evaluation and comparison.

What are some of the key findings?

· Health care organisations from the private sector performed better overall in accreditation status and have better performance to the mandatory criteria.

· The introduction of mandatory criteria has raised the standards for achieving full accreditation. The number of organisations awarded full accreditation reduced from 81% in 2002 to 39 % in 2004.

· More than 51% of organisations needed better systems for risk management.

Where to from here?

Our current intention is to publish a national performance report every two years. We are seeking feedback from the industry and community about the best way to deliver information from our rich data sources helping us to continue to inform public discussion on health care issues.