For clinics, primary care centres and groups accredited by GAHAR in Egypt
GAHAR accreditation software, built to help you achieve GAHAR accreditation.
GAHAR surveys a primary care facility against its 2025 handbook, scores every standard on the evidence of the months before the visit, and accredits for three years at 80% overall compliance with no GAHAR Safety Requirement unmet. wai runs booking, signed clinical notes, patient messaging in Arabic and English, payments and an audit trail on one record, so the evidence a GAHAR surveyor reads is kept as the work is done.
What does GAHAR ask of a primary care clinic in 2026?
Six areas from the 2025 handbook and the law behind it, from the prerequisites to Universal Health Insurance.
Six areas from the GAHAR 2025 primary care handbook and Law No. 2 of 2018. Open one for the standards behind it.1
01Accreditation prerequisites and conditionsBefore a survey, the facility must be licensed as the law requires, operating for at least six months, and honest and complete in everything it tells GAHAR. These standards must be met for the survey to continue.6 standards
Licensure, the PHC licensed as laws and regulations mandate
Operational for at least six months before applying
APC.01 The PHC provides GAHAR with accurate and complete information
APC.02 The PHC maintains professional standards before and during surveys
APC.03 The GAHAR-accredited PHC ensures continuous compliance with the standards
Scope changes over 20% notified to GAHAR one month ahead
02GAHAR Safety RequirementsTwenty-one GAHAR Safety Requirements, scored inside their chapters. A single unmet GSR standard means the facility cannot be accredited.6 requirements
GSR.01 Patient identification, ACT.03, at least two identifiers
GSR.02 Verbal and telephone orders, ICD.11
GSR.03 Critical results, ICD.22
GSR.12 Medication reconciliation, best possible medication history, MMS.09
03Patient-centeredness cultureGAHAR expects patients' rights to be protected and explained, informed consent recorded for listed processes, privacy kept, feedback measured and complaints answered within set timeframes.6 standards
PCC.02 Patient and family rights are protected and informed
PCC.05 The PHC has a defined process to obtain informed consent
PCC.07 The patient's dignity and privacy are protected
PCC.09 Services improved from measured patient and family feedback
PCC.10 Complaints or suggestions through a defined process
ACT.10 Telemedicine services, scope and modalities defined
04Information Management and TechnologyTwelve IMT standards cover the information plan, document control, confidentiality, retention, the medical record and how it is reviewed, health IT testing, downtime and backup.8 standards
IMT.01 Information management plan
IMT.04 Confidentiality and security of data
IMT.06 Retention of data and information, per national laws
IMT.07 Medical record management, a unique identifier for every patient
IMT.08 Patient's medical record usage, author, date and time of every entry
IMT.09 Medical record review, at least quarterly, about 5% of records
05Quality, incidents and the workforceGAHAR wants an incident reporting system staff use, sentinel events reported to it within 48 hours with a root cause analysis inside 45 days, and governance, staff files and clinical privileges kept current.6 standards
QPI.06 An incident-reporting system is developed
QPI.07 Sentinel events, reported to GAHAR within 48 hours, root cause analysis within 45 days
OGM.03 The PHC develops clinical governance program
06Universal Health Insurance, Law No. 2 of 2018The law makes health insurance mandatory for every citizen resident in Egypt, rolls out by governorate in six phases, and gives GAHAR the power to accredit the facilities that serve it.6 rules
Law No. 2 of 2018, Article 1, mandatory for every citizen resident in Egypt
Article 3 and Table 5, six phases by governorate, Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia in the sixth
Article 21, public and private family health centres hold a GAHAR certificate and contract with UHIA
Article 28, GAHAR sets quality standards and accredits and registers facilities
Article 30, accreditation certificates valid for three years
UHIA contracting, a provider registered or accredited by GAHAR
Six kinds of evidence the 2025 handbook's survey process guides name.2
01
Approved policies
Each standard lists the points its policy must cover, from a) onwards, and the surveyor checks the policy covers all of them.
02
Staff interviews
Surveyors ask staff to show they know the policy and can walk through the process.
03
Patient tracers
Surveyors follow care as it is delivered and observe the process in the clinic.
04
Medical records
A sample of records is checked for two identifiers on every sheet, consents, verbal orders and critical results.
05
Registers and logs
Records movement, document destruction, backup logs and incident reports.
06
Monitoring data
The data the facility collects on its own processes, and the actions taken on it.
How does GAHAR decide accreditation?
Every evidence of compliance is scored on the lookback period, then each standard and chapter, and four decision rules give the outcome.3
AccreditationThree years, 80% overall and every chapter at 70% or more
Conditioned accreditationTwo years, 70% to under 80% overall
Conditioned accreditationOne year, 60% to under 70% overall
RejectionUnder 60% overall, or any GSR standard not met
80%
compliance during the lookback period scores an evidence of compliance as met, and 80% overall is the bar for three-year accreditation.3
4 months
is the minimum time a primary care facility must comply with the handbook before its first accreditation survey.1
30 working days
is the longest GAHAR takes to tell a facility its decision after the survey visit.1
Met is 80% or more compliance in the lookback period, partially met 50% to under 80%, not met under 50%.
A single GAHAR Safety Requirement standard scored not met rules out accreditation at every level.
Unmet evidence needs a corrective action plan within 90, 60 or 30 days, by decision level, sent to GAHAR.
The facility has 15 days to appeal, and the chairman of GAHAR then approves the decision and the certificate.
What has changed for GAHAR primary care in 2025 and 2026?
Four things a clinic should know in October 2026, each marked as in force or as a gap to check.
In force. The GAHAR Handbook for Primary Healthcare Accreditation Standards 2025, second edition, replaces the 2021 edition, and renames the National Safety Requirements the GAHAR Safety Requirements.
In force. A new standard, ACT.10, covers telemedicine, and applies when a facility's scope includes it.4
In force. Provisional accreditation for primary care has its own 2025 requirements, valid one year, as the step before full accreditation.
To check. The ambulatory healthcare handbook, first edition 2022, printed a validity of April 2022 to April 2026, and we found no later edition on gahar.gov.eg on 16 October 2026.
GAHAR inside Universal Health Insurance
Three authorities share the system Law No. 2 of 2018 created, and GAHAR is the one that accredits.5
What it does
What it means for a clinic
GAHAR
Sets quality standards, accredits and registers facilities and professionals, and can suspend or cancel accreditation (Article 28)
The survey, the decision, and the certificate valid three years (Article 30)
Universal Health Insurance Authority
Runs the insurance and contracts with providers
A public or private family health centre needs a GAHAR certificate and a contract with UHIA (Article 21)
Healthcare Organisation
Runs the public hospitals and care units in governorates that have joined
Its facilities must meet the quality and accreditation standards within three years (Article 22)
Rollout
Six phases by governorate (Article 3 and Table 5)
Port Said, Suez, Ismailia, South Sinai and North Sinai first, Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia in the sixth
The Arabic names
The official names behind this page, as the law and the authorities write them.
الهيئة العامة للاعتماد والرقابة الصحية, the General Authority for Healthcare Accreditation and Regulation.5
الهيئة العامة للتأمين الصحي الشامل, the Universal Health Insurance Authority.
قانون نظام التأمين الصحي الشامل رقم 2 لسنة 2018, the Universal Health Insurance System Law, No. 2 of 2018.
الاعتماد المبدئي, provisional accreditation.
مراكز الرعاية الصحية الأساسية وصحة الأسرة, basic healthcare and family health centres, public and private, under Article 21.
What should clinic software for GAHAR accreditation run?
Each module runs part of the clinic and records the evidence for the areas listed beside it.
01
Appointments and booking
Online booking from your own website, every clinician's diary read from their calendar, reminders, rebooking after a missed visit and waitlist offers when a slot opens.
Online booking at any hour, with a reminder before the visit.
For the business
Fewer missed appointments, and cancelled slots offered to the waitlist.
On the record
Every booking, reminder and change, with a time and a name.
02
Billing and payments
Card payments into your own Stripe account, the cancellation policy shown at booking, invoices, statements and reconciliation, with an export for your accountant.
A clear price and policy before they commit, and an invoice in their app.
For the business
Payments reconciled against visits, with an export for your accountant.
On the record
What was charged, when, against which visit, and the policy the patient saw.
03
AI scribe and clinical notes
The note, letters and referrals written from the consultation, cited to published clinical guidelines, with the transcript beside the note, for the clinician to read, edit and sign.
The clinician's attention stays on them during the consultation.
For the business
Less time spent writing notes after clinic.
On the record
A contemporaneous note, signed, with the time, the signature and the source it cites.
04
Follow-ups and patient messaging
WhatsApp, email and calls in one thread per patient, replies drafted in the patient's own language for your team to approve, a response clock on every new enquiry, and recalls a clinician approves.
A reply in the language they wrote in, approved by your team.
For the business
More enquiries answered within the hour, when they are most likely to book.
On the record
The whole conversation on one record, with response times.
05
Referrals, consent and audit trails
Recording consent taken at booking, referrals written from the visit, patient flags for controlled drugs and safeguarding notes, and every read of a record logged against a named account.
What is the best clinic software for GAHAR accreditation?
The best software for a GAHAR clinic is the system the clinic already runs on, so the evidence is kept as the work is done. Look for a record that shows the author, date and time of every entry, notes signed by the clinician, messaging in Arabic and English, named accounts with role-based access and a full audit trail. wai is built that way, to help you achieve GAHAR accreditation.
Is there GAHAR approved clinic software?
GAHAR accredits and registers healthcare facilities and medical professionals. It does not approve, certify or endorse software, wai included, and software cannot earn an accreditation on a provider's behalf. wai keeps the records your team uses to show GAHAR how care is delivered, and GAHAR decides the accreditation.
Which GAHAR handbook applies to a private clinic?
The 2025 primary care handbook applies to primary care centres and units, private ones included, as whole organisations. It excludes ambulatory care organisations, which GAHAR covers in a separate ambulatory healthcare handbook.
Does a clinic need an MOHP licence before GAHAR accreditation?
Yes, the first condition in GAHAR's accreditation overview is compliance with the licensure requirements the law sets. UHIA's contracting conditions also list the Ministry of Health licence and the Medical Syndicate licence among the documents a provider files.
How long does GAHAR accreditation last?
Full accreditation lasts three years, conditioned accreditation two years or one year, and provisional accreditation one year, renewable.
Can AI write notes in a GAHAR accredited clinic?
IMT.08 asks that only authorised people make entries and that the author, date and time of every entry can be identified. A note drafted by AI meets that when the clinician reviews it, edits it and signs it under their own name, and every change stays in the audit trail.
Where does wai keep our records?
In each clinic's own country, under that country's rules, encrypted, with a full audit log. We set this up with you before go-live.
Fifteen minutes on video, in Arabic or English, on your own clinic's records. Built to help you achieve GAHAR accreditation. wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with you before go-live.
