Glossary, regulation and privacy
What is an accreditation survey?
An accreditation survey is the on-site review an accrediting body runs to check whether a healthcare organisation meets its published standards. Surveyors read records, observe care and interview staff and patients, then the body decides whether to grant or renew accreditation.
Updated . Defined by the wai team for clinics, groups and health systems.
Also called accreditation visit or survey visit.
Why Accreditation survey matters to a clinic
Accreditation is often what insurers, partners and patients look for before they trust a provider, and in some markets it is required to operate or to be paid. A survey decides it in a few days on the evidence in front of the surveyors.
Surveyors usually trace real patients through the service and ask staff to show the record as they go. A clinic whose consent, notes, follow-up and incident records sit in one place shows its standard of care at the pace the surveyor works.
Questions
Is an accreditation survey the same as an inspection?
They are close. An inspection is run by a regulator that licenses or registers the provider, and a survey is run by an accrediting body against its own standards, often voluntarily.
Can software be accredited?
Accrediting bodies accredit healthcare organisations, not software. The software keeps the records the organisation uses to show how it meets the standards.
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