Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Health plans to incorporate patient experience and healthcare workforce factors into the hospital accreditation process, in response to findings of gaps between hospitals’ ‘paripurna’ (highest-tier) accreditation status and the actual quality of service.
During a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Monday, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin highlighted several recurring healthcare service issues, including maternal and infant mortality rates, delays in payments to doctors and healthcare workers, and difficulties in procuring medicines.
“We observe that external assessments tend to be checklist-based or merely formalities, involving requirements hospitals must meet only every three or five years. They have yet to assess daily patient care,” Sadikin said.
He noted that public reports reveal a discrepancy between hospital quality indicators and the actual experiences of the public and healthcare workers.
Regarding accreditation as an indicator of hospital quality, the minister said assessment results would affect payments from BPJS Kesehatan (national health insurance).
However, this impact on payments will not be implemented within the next five years.
“A drop or change in accreditation status will not affect the revenue received by hospitals. Our actual goal is to gradually improve hospital quality over the next five years,” Sadikin said.
Consequently, hospital quality assessments will focus on ensuring that patients receive prompt, high-quality care, including access to necessary medicines and successful medical procedures, while ensuring that healthcare workers are paid on time.
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“If hospitals aim to achieve ‘paripurna’ accreditation, patients must truly receive excellent care. Such accreditation should also indicate that the healthcare workforce is competent of performing their duties effectively,” he said.
He said hospital accreditation should be based on patient feedback, which could be collected simply by having patients select a smiling or frowning icon on a device to indicate whether they were satisfied with the service.
Sadikin pointed to a similar mechanism used in the restrooms at Singapore’s Changi International Airport.
“For each key service, we can assess whether patients have to wait too long for registration, a doctor’s appointment, or medication, and whether doctors treat BPJS patients respectfully,” he said.
The minister added that hospital quality would also be measured based on the quality of operations, including whether patients are readmitted, as well as financial governance.
The assessment will eventually be made public, which Sadikin said would allow the public to help monitor hospital quality.
He said the measure was not intended as a form of punishment, but rather as guidance to improve services for patients and healthcare workers.
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Translator: Mecca Yumna N P, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Bayu Prasetyo
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