Patient experience data in practice accreditation--an international comparison.

OBJECTIVE: Accreditation of medical practices is widely used as a means to assure and improve medical care quality. Patient experience data contribute to a comprehensive quality assessment; some accreditation programmes therefore include patient surveys. Based on a commissioned work for Stiftung Praxissiegel, a provider of practice accreditation in Germany, nine international accreditation programmes were compared. Our study aimed at describing content, method and scope as well as differences, commonalities and unique features regarding the integration of patient experience data into international practice accreditation programmes.
DESIGN: Selective literature review, subsequent systematic analysis of the identified documents. PARTICIPANTS: Nine accreditation programmes from Germany, Switzerland, UK, the Netherlands, USA and Australia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Synthesis of key information on the accreditation programmes, the development of accreditation criteria, the different ways to assess patient experience data and the relevance of patient experience data to the accreditation decision.
RESULTS: Structured patient surveys are mandatory in five accreditation programmes. Two programmes include the specific results of patient surveys in the accreditation decision. Three programmes require the results of patient surveys to be evaluated and, if necessary, to be used for quality improvement activities.
CONCLUSIONS: Collecting patient experience data is of great importance for a comprehensive assessment of medical care quality. A practice accreditation programme that includes a structured patient survey can be considered as a high international standard. So far, there are insufficient research results on how and to what extent patient experience data is to be included in the accreditation decision.