FIFTY four (54) hospitals from different parts of the country were formally recognized as Centers of Excellence by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in ceremonies held Friday, September 16, at the Crowne Plaza in Quezon City .
PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Rey B. Aquino said that the event is a fitting tribute to these health care facilities that have made the cut where quality standards are concerned. "We are proud to announce that 54 hospitals now belong to the distinguished line-up of Centers of Excellence, a testament to their continuing pursuit of quality care for their clients and other stakeholders."
The Center of Excellence award is granted to accredited hospitals that have met the stringent criteria articulated in the Benchbook which has become the standards for accreditation. In particular, the health care facility is able to comply with quality standards in the areas of patients' rights, organizational ethics, patient care, safe practice and environment, leadership and management, human resource management, information management, and improving performance. "We recognize the efforts of these partner-hospitals to encourage them to continue with their best practices on clinical and quality assurance and aim for excellence in the delivery of health care," Aquino said, adding that the list is expected to expand once the other hospitals realize the benefits of being bestowed the highest accolade in the area of hospital accreditation in the country.
In 2010 PhilHealth started the implementation of the Benchbook, shifting PhilHealth's focus in accreditation from structure to processes and outcomes of care. Based on the Benchbook standards, hospitals applying for accreditation were assessed and classified according to performance, namely, Center of Safety , Center of Quality , Center of Excellence . By end of 2010, 40 hospitals have been granted the Center of Excellence award and another batch of 14 hospitals made it to list by end-July this year.
The list includes 22 from the National Capital Region, seven (7) from Batangas, five (5) from Laguna, four (4) from Cavite, three (3) from Cebu City, two (2) each from Tuguegarao City, Iloilo City and Leyte, and one (1) each from Legazpi City, Angeles City, Capiz, Western Samar, Bukidnon, Agusan del Norte, and Mandaue City.
Aside from the prestige of being awarded the Center of Excellence , it is the fulfillment and the reward of every human resource of the facility who have worked hard to embody what quality assurance is to their system. Institutional Health Care Providers (IHCPs) who are awarded as Center of Excellence will be given three (3) years accreditation, but they will have to apply yearly to update their documentary requirements like DOH license without the annual survey. However, spot monitoring shall be conducted by PhilHealth surveyors whether they are consistent with their quality assurance program and if there is a lapse in their performance, the facility after due process can be downgraded to either Center of Quality or Safety.
Present during the event were members of the PhilHealth Accreditation Committee, medical directors and administrators of the awardee-hospitals and other guests. (END)
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