• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.251-256
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• 2018

The origin of hospital accreditation in Korea is the Hospital Standardization Program of the Korea Hospital Association. Current accreditation program implemented by the Korea Institute for Healthcare Accreditation has succeeded in stimulating quality improvement activities of participating hospitals since its launching in 2010. However it has been criticized due to some unintended consequences of accreditation. In order to fully enjoy the benefit of the accreditation program in Korea, national efforts to expand accreditation scheme and coverage, upgrade accreditation standards, insure substantiality of accreditation process, provide consumers with more useful information, and strengthen the professional capacity of accreditation organization will be needed.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2016

Objectives: Healthcare Accreditation Program in Korea started in 2011. The aim of this study is to contribute to the development of the Healthcare Accreditation Program in Korea by comparing the perception of the Healthcare Accreditation Program for the accredited hospitals and the surveyors. Methods: This study was performed targeting 77 accredited acute care hospitals and 245 surveyors who have surveyed acute care hospitals from 2010 to February 2014. They responded to our questionnaire via a survey website, and we analyzed the results. Results: We found that the hospitals rated the professionalism of surveyors more positively than surveyors. While average score of the hospitals was higher for 'The understanding of the accreditation standards and survey methods was correct' than that of the surveyors (p<0.01), average score of the surveyors was higher for 'Mediation and collaboration between surveyors were smooth' than that of the hospitals (p<0.05). And we found that the surveyors rated the Accreditation Program more positively than hospitals. While average score of the hospitals was higher for 'Surveyors have the professionalism' than that of the surveyors (p<0.05), average score of the surveyors was higher for 'It is easy to understand the accreditation standards and evaluation items' than that of the hospitals (p<0.01). Conclusion: In order to development of the accreditation program, it is necessary to strengthen the professionalism of surveyors and improve the acceptability of the accreditation program.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.33-43
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• 2024

Purpose:The acute hospital accreditation program launched in South Korea has shown positive effects on safety culture and quality of care. However, relative weights have not yet been investigated for accreditation criteria with a hierarchical structure. This study aimed to derive the relative weights of acute-care hospital accreditation criteria. Methods: We conducted an online survey using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique to assess the validity, importance, and urgency of acute hospital accreditation criteria. The AHP online survey link was distributed in November 2022 after obtaining informed consent from 10 experts in hospital accreditation. Results: 'Basic value system' ranked highest, while 'patient care system' ranked second in terms of validity, importance, and urgency. 'Performance management system' had the lowest validity and urgency, while 'organizational management system' carried the lowest importance. Within the 'patient care system' domain, 'surgery and anesthesia sedation management' scored highest in validity and importance, and 'patient care' scored highest in urgency. 'Care delivery system and evaluation' received the lowest scores for all three aspects. In the 'organizational management system' domain, infection control ranked highest in terms of validity, importance, and urgency. The lowest validity was observed for 'management and organizational operation' and the lowest importance and urgency were noted for 'human resource management'. Conclusion: The weights for validity, importance, and urgency, as shown in each domain and chapter, and the number of measurable elements included, are largely inconsistent. This study will contribute to the development of the structure and scientific improvement of accreditation standards.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.17-28
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• 2021

This study empirically investigates the causal relationship between healthcare accreditation system and Job Satisfaction, Service value, and organizational commitment. The results of this study can be summarized as followings. First, healthcare accreditation system had not a positive significant on the job satisfaction. Second, healthcare accreditation system had a positive significant on service value. Third, job satisfaction had a positive significant on the organizational commitment. Forth, service value had a positive significant on the organizational commitment.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.65-70
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• 2016

The Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) accreditation system was initiated in 2013 in the form of mandatory accreditation system in order to improve patient safety and the quality of medical service at LTCHs. By June 2016, the accredited LTCHs were 76.2%. This research was conducted to review the implementation process in the first cycle and to promote development of the second cycle of LTCH accreditation system. There are some changes which reinforced the accreditation standards, accreditation survey, and public access to accreditation results in order to strengthen patient safety in the first cycle LTCH accreditation system. LTCHs which participated in the accreditation system achieved certain outcomes in respect to patient safety and employee satisfaction. However, there are several urgent problems in placement criteria of night duty health care providers, reinforcement plans in the accreditation system, and incentives for accredited hospitals. In order to solve these problems, the most important thing is to clearly recognize the fact that the healthcare accreditation system is not the means for control and regulate hospitals but a system to induce hospitals to continue to strive for improvements in patient safety and medical service quality. In addition, it is required that LTCHs, accrediting agency and the Ministry of Health and Welfare compromise and cooperate to seek solutions every time issues related to the accreditation system arise.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.45-55
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• 2015

While the influence of healthcare accreditation system to the quality improvement of hospitals has more increased, regarding the preparation costs for healthcare accreditation, it has never been empirically studied about the costs that are actually invested by hospitals. This study is going to determine the difficulties in the preparation process of accreditation and details of accreditation preparation costs for hospitals that participated in the healthcare accreditation system and acquired accreditation. The survey was performed in a self-reported form from February 28 to March 21 2014 for 189 acute hospitals accredited as a hospital from 2011 to February 2014. Of all questionaries of survey participants, 98 were recovered; the response rate was 51.9%. A total of 40 questionnaires were used except for 58 containing insincere answers. Main findings are followings: Firstly, findings showed that advanced general hospitals spent the most statistically significantly highest in terms of equipments and total costs among cost items for accreditation preparation. When accreditation preparation costs items were classified according to classification of hospitals, advanced general hospitals spent the most statistically significantly highest in the equipments and total costs. Also in terms of regional, Gyeonggi, Incheon regions were found to spend statistically significantly higher costs in the equipments costs. Secondly, as a result of the survey in the distribution of the total accreditation preparation costs, advanced general hospitals have disbursed the most out of all. However, the result in hospitals does not show significant difference to the expense of advanced general hospitals and that especially other regional hospitals spent higher costs. As such, all hospitals are under a heavy burden of higher costs on accreditation preparation, especially hospitals. The build-up of infrastructures by hospitals through an accreditation system consequently led to a higher initial investment; if the accreditation system is effective in improving the quality of health care and patient safety, appropriate responses are needed. In other words, financial support for investment costs needs to be given to allow hospitals to actively participate in the accreditation system.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.431-443
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to grasp which effect the healthcare accreditation has on hospital employees' satisfaction level and hospital management performance by comparatively analyzing between accreditation hospital and non-accreditation hospital. As for difference in hospital employees' satisfaction level according to accreditation system, the incentive payment and pride of own task at the accreditation hospital and the hospital management effect were indicated to have positive(+) influence with statistically significant difference upon the item such as accuracy of task performance owing to the business standardization. It was indicated that hospital employees' satisfaction is high at the accreditation hospital and that the higher satisfaction level leads to having influence upon the effect of hospital management. What a country differentiates medical bill or supports medical equipment for medical institution that acquired accreditation is considered to be a plan for activation that can allow non-accreditation hospitals to be able to participate positively in the voluntary accreditation system.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.659-669
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine, among quality improvement (QI) department employees, the effects of perception of the healthcare accreditation on job stress and to identify factors affecting turnover intention. Research data was collected between 1 June and 15 June 2016. The sample included QI department employees who had participated in a healthcare accreditation survey. The collected data were analyzed to obtain frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation results, which were assessed by using Student's t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis. The scores for QI employees' perceptions of the healthcare accreditation, job stress, and turnover intention were 3.35, 3.66, and 3.32 of the perception by general characteristics. There were significant differences between scores according to gender, age, QI department section, position, and job satisfaction. In addition, job stress and turnover intention scores showed significant differences according to position, age, QI department section, and job satisfaction. A positive correlation was observed between healthcare perception and job stress, while turnover intention was negatively correlated with healthcare perception. The results indicate that the perception of healthcare accreditation positively affects job stress; in contrast, it decreases the number of people intending to change departments. Among the sample of lower level workers, the younger age workers who were employed for more than 10 years expressed lower satisfaction with their job, which indicates that they are affected by their notion of healthcare accreditation more than by other factors. Thus, in order to lessen work stress and employees' thoughts of leaving the department, the QI department should be encouraged to lessen job stress and provide various supports to the employees.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.33-49
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• 2015

Objectives : This study was conducted to measure the effects of healthcare accreditation (HA) on the changes in infection control (IC). Methods : Questionnaires were e-mailed to 60 hospitals from 23 October to 23 December, 2011. Data were analyzed by SPSS 12.0. Results : Finally 50 hospitals (83.0%) were enrolled in the study: Seoul area (40.0%), tertiary (76.0%), and >500 beds (98.0%). Nine hospitals (18.0%) had a full time infection control nurse[ICN] with 300 beds. Among various factors, ICN (36.0%), hospital facilities (66.0%), instruments (32.0%) and supplies (88.0%) all improved. Hand hygiene increased (53.1% vs 83.2%, p<.001), but it was continued only in 34.1% of hospitals. Healthcare-associated infection (68.4%), multi drug resistant organisms (42.1%) and outbreaks (26.3%) decreased. Reasons for difficulties in satisfying the HA standards were inadequate support which included hospital facilities, instruments, budget, and a shortage of ICNs and healthcare workers (HCWs). Conclusions : HA had effects on the IC, but they were transient. Staffing in ICN and HCW staffing, hospital facilities, instruments, and supplies all need to be improved.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.281-290
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• 2013

This study aimed to assess whether the changes in compliance rates of evaluation criteria after healthcare accreditation among radiologic technologists working at four university hospitals which had acquired healthcare accreditation in Daejeon metropolitan area. In this study, the evaluation criteria of healthcare accreditation were reclassified and reevaluated to three areas which include patient safety, staff safety, and environmental safety. Each area has eight, three, and five questions, respectively. Each compliance rate was quantitatively measured on a scale of 0 to 10 before and after in this study. The result shows that the overall compliance rates were decreased on all areas compared to the time healthcare accreditation was obtained. The compliance rate of hand hygiene was drastically reduced. To maintain the compliance rates, not only individuals but healthcare organizations should simultaneously endeavor. In particular, healthcare organizations should make an effort to provide continuous education opportunity to their workers and supervise the compliance regularly.