Hospital Accreditation and Its Impacts on Quality Culture

Brazilian health care system has been going through profound changes, causing hospital institutions to adopt quality management programs. The goal is to continually improve these processes, products and services. This article analyzes the impact promoted by hospital accreditation methodology in the development of a quality culture directed towards providing services with excellence. It uses a qualitative approach, with multiple case studies, in five different hospitals, from November 2015 to March 2016. The approach was done through interviews, with the support of a semi-structured survey. The results showed that accreditation methodology is the main means by which a hospital initiates and diffuses quality management. The conclusion shows that the accreditation methodology is able to promote the processes, which give rise to the development of a culture of quality, increasing patients satisfaction.