Developing National Functional Accreditation Model for Primary Healthcares with Emphasis on Family Practice in Iran

BACKGROUND: Accreditation is an approach toward quality improvement which has been increasingly implemented in healthcare. This study aimed at developing a national functional accreditation model for primary healthcare with emphasis on family practice in Iran. METHODS: This mixed-method study utilizes a set of research methods purposefully. Initially, the reference models were used for benchmarking accreditation standards through a systematic review. Then, the primary accreditation standards were developed and then they were assessed and approved by the experts of the field via Delphi technique. In the following and after developing essential parts of the standards, the necessary changes in developed model were done according to the pilot test results. RESULTS: The results of systematic review suggested the superiority of accreditation models of the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom globally; and the models of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Egypt in Eastern-Mediterranean region. Then, the primary standards including 39 functional standards with 231 measures were developed according to the benchmarked models, and were approved by the experts in Delphi-based study. In pilot test step, the compliance rate of developed standards by primary healthcare centers was calculated 61.61% and 26.37% for self-evaluation and external evaluation phases, respectively. CONCLUSION: Regarding the comprehensiveness of developed accreditation model due to its focus on all functional dimensions and the consensus over the developed standards by the experts, it can be an underlying ground for the establishment and evaluation of functional improvement programs in Iranian primary healthcare system.