Quality accreditation’s impact on effective leadership in healthcare organizations

Quality improvement is a central objective in healthcare system reform worldwide, requiring healthcare managers' attention and resources to ensure high-quality patient care. Improving quality can be challenging due to various issues healthcare managers must address. Effective methods have been implemented nationally and locally, including external quality assessments. These assessments often rely on ISO standards to certify organizations. However, ISO standards set minimum requirements and assess through document evaluation. In response to these limitations, bodies like The Joint Commission International (JCI) introduced new standards and evaluation methods. This research aims to explore how JCI's method can enhance managerial performance in improving organizational quality. A qualitative approach is used, conducting semi-structured interviews with selected CEOs of JCI-accredited healthcare organizations in Italy. Interviews investigated three key areas: (1) the role of quality accreditation in defining managerial responsibilities, (2) how it can enhance organizational leadership, and (3) its impact on achieving performance goals. Main findings show that leadership plays a crucial role in improving quality in healthcare organizations, creating the conditions and commitment necessary to ensure effective actions. Respondents acknowledge the importance of quality improvement in effectively and efficiently managing the organization, with quality perceived as an integral part of the managerial process.