Glossary
Accreditation Public recognition of achievement by a health care organisation, of requirements of national health care standards. The status obtained by an organisation after a successful third party external evaluation by a recognised body to assess whether an organisation meets applicable per-determined and published standards
ACHS The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, Australia's leading independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the quality and safety of health care through continual review of performance, assessment and accreditation
Certification ACHS' quality management program for newly established and other health care organisations that have not yet implemented a formal quality program
Clinical indicator A measure of the clinical management and outcome of care; a method of monitoring consumer / patient care and services which attempts to 'flag' problem areas, evaluate trends and so direct attention to issues requiring further review
Consumer / patient People who directly or indirectly make use of health services
Corporate governance Understood to be the system by which organisations are directed, controlled and held to account
Credentialing The process of accessing and conferring approval on a person's suitability to provide a defined type of health care
Criteria The measurable key components of a standard; that are necessary for meeting the standard
EQuIP Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program, ACHS' framework to improve the quality and safety of health care
Evaluation Judging the value of something by gathering valid information about it in a systematic way and by making a comparison. The purpose of evaluation is to help the user of the evaluation to decide what to do, or to contribute to scientific knowledge
Inter-rater reliability Ensuring consistency between and within survey teams on ratings of the criteria within each standard
ISQua The International Society for Quality in Health Care, a not-for-profit, independent organisation with members in over 70 countries that works to provide services to guide health professionals, providers, researchers, agencies, policy makers and consumers, to achieve excellence in health care delivery, and to continuously improve the quality and safety of care
Member An organisation participating in an ACHS accreditation program
Policy A documented statement that formalises the approach to tasks and concepts which is consistent with organisational objectives
Procedure A set of documented instructions conveying the approved and recommended steps for a particular act or sequence of acts
Process A series of actions, changes / functions that bring about an end or a result
Quality The extent to which the properties of a service or product produces a desired outcome
Risk Management The culture, processes and structures that are directed towards realising potential opportunities whilst managing adverse effects6
Safety Freedom from hazard
Standard Describes the overall goal; for example, high quality care for patients with desirable outcomes
Surveyor A health professional trained by ACHS to assess the performance of health care organisations against EQuIP standards
Acronyms
AC Advanced Completion
ACHS The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards
ACHSI ACHS International
ACSQHC The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
AHHA Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association
ARC Australian Research Council
ART Assessment Recording Tool
AIHI Australian Institute of Health Innovation
AMA Australian Medical Association
APHA Australian Private Hospitals Association
CSM Customer Services Manager
DU ACHS Development Unit
EAT Electronic Assessment Tool
EQuIP Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program
EQuIP 4 the 4th edition of the ACHS Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program
EQuIP5 the 5th edition of the ACHS Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program
GA Gap Analysis
IAP International Accreditation Programme
ISQua The International Society for Quality in Health Care
NSQHSS National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards
OWS Organisation-Wide Survey
PIRT Performance Indicator Reporting Tool
POS Performance and Outcomes Service
PR Periodic Review
PSA Pre-Survey Assessment
QI Quality Improvement
QIC Quality Improvement Committee
QMT Quality Monitoring Tool
SAC State Advisory Committee
SAS Self-Assessment Survey
VMO Visiting Medical Officer
Last Review Date 18 April 2019