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Alice Yan

Hospitals in China are increasingly getting accreditation from international medical organisations to attract overseas patients and improve their management, according to consultants and a group involved in the vetting process.
One of the accreditation programmes is run by the US-based non-profit making organisation Joint Commission International, or JCI.
Dr Paul Chang, a vice-president at the group, said it had seen the number of hospitals in China applying for accreditation steadily increasing over the past three to five years.
Fifty three hospitals in China are accredited by the organisation, it says.
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These include some of China’s top hospitals, such as the Shanghai Huashan Hospital and the Children’s Hospital at Fudan University, plus county level health centres in inland areas. Roughly equal numbers of private and public hospitals are accredited, according to the JCI website.
The first organisation was accredited in China in 2003.
Chang said he had seen similar growth around Asia in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.

“As you have a few hospitals accredited, more interest will be created in the country,” said Chang.
Chu Tu-Bin, the president of Shanghai-based K&C Hospital Management, said the number of his company’s clients applying for JCI accreditation had doubled annually over the past few years.
Eight mainland hospitals have received certificates from the US organisation after consulting with Chu’s firm.
Private hospitals on the mainland find it hard to get an official grading from the health authorities so find an international accreditation useful, Chu said.
Hospitals also hope to target foreign patients as “JCI accreditation is an important indicator for a hospital management level in the eyes of international insurance companies”, he added.
Chang at JCI said hospitals usually needed 18 months to two years to prepare for a survey by specialists sent by his organisation to see if they are up to scratch.
Hospitals need to train staff, improve management and ensure facilities are of good quality, he added.
“Cultural conflicts” can occur during this process because medical staff tend to stick to their old habits, according to hospital management firm boss Chu.
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Sherry Chen, the vice general manager at the hospital management consulting firm Far East Horizon, said accreditation did not guarantee an increased level of business for hospitals, but did bring benefits.
“Patients will find hospitals are cleaner and more orderly and medical employees operate in standardised procedures,” she said. “They will gain more trust in the hospitals.”
However, big health centres may not see a reduction in queues or crowded wards after getting a certificate, according to Chen.
“Based on the JCI requirement, there should be a service quantity cap. That’s what big hospitals feel most embarrassed about,” she said.
Chen’s team also helps mainland hospitals get accreditation through a TUV-SQS certificate issued by the German technical medical services provider TUV Rheinland.
JCI used to have two accredited hospitals in Hong Kong until 2009, but now most medical centres in the territory use an Australian accreditation programme, according to Chang.


Chinese hospitals pursue international accreditation to tempt overseas patients

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Rescued miner Zhao Zhi’an receives medical treatment in a hospital in Pingyi County, east China’s Shandong Province, on December 25, 2015. Photo: Xinhua

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Chinese hospitals pursue international accreditation to tempt overseas patients

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