Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) was yesterday formally recognised by Joint Commission International (JCI) for being the first healthcare organisation in the world to have all its hospitals qualified under the Academic Medical Centre accreditation programme.
This distinction was achieved following a comprehensive on-site survey earlier this year by specialist JCI surveyors who evaluated all of HMC’s eight hospitals against a set of stringent internationally approved healthcare standards.
All HMC hospitals have received the official Gold Seal of Approval for accreditation under the JCI Academic Medical Centre Hospital standards.
Simultaneous accreditation across all hospitals is an outstanding achievement. It demonstrates a commitment to providing great care all the time, while sharing new learnings and developing innovative ways of delivering high quality care. It also demonstrates Qatar leadership’s commitment to the health sector.
The award was presented by Paula Wilson, president and chief  executive officer of Joint Commission Resources and Joint Commission International and Dr Mark R Chassin, president and chief executive officer of The Joint Commission, to HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, during a special ceremony at JCI headquarters outside Chicago.
Dr al-Kuwari said: “This recognition is an enormous achievement and accolade for Qatar’s leading tertiary and secondary healthcare provider. It demonstrates Hamad Medical Corporation’s commitment to continuous learning, professional development and delivery of safe, high quality care and is indicative of Qatar leadership’s commitment to the health sector.”
“Gaining accreditation as an academic medical centre puts HMC alongside an elite international group of healthcare providers. Being the first in the world to be accredited as an academic medical centre is a testament to HMC’s approach to developing excellence in healthcare in Qatar and the quality of the care it provides to its patients.”
Joint Commission International Accreditation Standards for Hospitals, 5th Edition provides the basis for accreditation of hospitals throughout the world. It provides organisations with the information they need to pursue or maintain patient safety, performance improvement and accreditation status.
“Since 2004 Joint Commission International has built a collaborative relationship with Hamad Medical Corporation and through the commitment, intelligence and drive of HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, the entire corporation has worked to establish a strong culture of patient safety and healthcare quality,” said Wilson.
At the beginning of this year, a team of internationally-renowned and independent JCI surveyors closely examined the hospitals that make up HMC over a period of eight weeks. The rigorous on-site surveys measured existing organisational practices in healthcare quality and patient safety and benchmarked these against JCI’s more than 304 internationally recognised hospital standards and 1,200 measurable elements.