Health Care Accreditation council

The Health Care Accreditation Council is a national non-profit organization, established in 2007 under the Non-profit Private Shareholding Companies Law and registered in the Companies Register at the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan under no. (191) for 2007.

The Health Care Accreditation Council is the national body in Jordan that is concerned with developing and improving the quality of health care services and activating the principles of patient safety in the health sector in Jordan and the Arab region, by developing internationally acceptable health care standards, building capacities and providing training and consultancy services pertaining to the rehabilitation of health institutions to comply with national and international standards aimed at improving the quality of health care services and patient safety. HCAC also trains evaluators, assesses health care institutions and grants certificates of accreditation.

Furthermore, the Health care Accreditation Council provides comprehensive services, covering all the needs of the public, private and non-profit sectors, regionally and locally, through two main arms; one for accreditation services, standard development and quality programs, and the other for consultancy and training services and capacity building.

HCAC is a leader in the development of standards and accreditation in the health care sector at the national and regional levels, and was the first organization, out of 13 organizations worldwide, to be awarded all three international accreditations by the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), including accreditation of HCAC, accreditation of the resident training program and accreditation of standards, which underlines the high level of HCAC’s services and its adherence to the international standards and procedures for the quality of health care services and patient safety. At the regional level, HCAC was the first accreditation body in the Middle East and one of seven major accreditation institutions around the world that are part of the ISQua Accreditation Board.

The development of health care standards was in response to the need for a guidance tool to ensure better health care performance. The standards developed by HCAC are internationally recognized, and its quality programs are in line with Arabic culture, identity and language. Since its establishment, HCAC has developed and issued standards for hospitals, primary health care and family planning, centers of excellence for family planning and reproductive health, medical transportation services, mammography units, diabetes health care programs, cardiovascular care programs, medical centers, medical laboratories, dental care services, services for people with disabilities (autism spectrum and intellectual disability) and shelter services.

HCAC’s work is supported by more than 130 residents and accredited consultants with diverse expertise in the health sector. To date, HCAC has 31 accredited hospitals, 94 accredited health centers, 27 accredited mammography units, 32 accredited laboratories, and 2 accredited specialized medical centers.

In addition, the Health Care Accreditation Council seeks to transfer its experience in the health sector to the social sector, where it has designed many initiatives and programs to support and guide public, private and non-profit institutions on best practices to improve the quality of services and ensure the safety of patients and beneficiaries. This includes developing care standards, designing and implementing accreditation systems, training and capacity building and preparing and enabling institutions and their staff to meet quality standards

National awareness and social responsibility are part of the Health Care Accreditation Council's mission to promote a culture of quality and practices that ensure patient safety. HCAC strives to raise public awareness about the importance of the concept of quality and patient safety by launching the National Health Care Quality and Safety Goals every two years, managing the Change Day campaign every year and organizing the Health Care Quality Conference every two years. HCAC engages all sectors, stakeholders and relevant parties to support national initiatives and plans to drive quality.

With these achievements, the Health Care Accreditation Council is a regional reference that contributes to putting Jordanian health institutions at the forefront in terms of service quality and patient safety. HCAC’s work is based on the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II that aim to achieve equality for all Jordanians in accessing quality health services at all times and from all institutions in the health sector throughout Jordan. Its work is also supervised by a board of directors comprising key partners and stakeholders from the Jordanian health sector, including government and non-governmental institutions, such as the Ministry of Finance / Ministry of Health, Royal Medical Services, university hospitals, the Jordanian Nursing Council and others.