A visit lasts three to five days, with two to eight experts-visiteurs and a coordinator, and runs on fixed meetings around the evaluations in the services. In a patient traceur, a doctor expert-visiteur meets a consenting patient, then the team that cared for them, and reads the record.
The shape of the visit
| Meeting | When | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Réunion d'ouverture | Morning of day one | 1 hour |
| Bilan d'étape | Each morning except the last day | 45 minutes |
| Point de calage calendrier and logistique | Each early afternoon except the second to last day | 20 minutes |
| Bilan de fin de visite | Late morning of the last day | 1 hour 30 to 2 hours |
| Restitution plénière | End of the visit, optional | 1 hour at most |
The team is multiprofessional, always includes a doctor, and since January 2024 always includes digital expertise.1 At each early afternoon point, the establishment gives the coordinator the list of patients present in the services visited, with their reason for admission, age and date of entry, so the patient traceur can be chosen.2
Inside a patient traceur
The patient traceur evaluates the quality and safety of one patient's care. After obtaining their consent, the evaluator gathers the experience of the patient and their relatives, then talks with the team caring for them, and reads the record. For external evaluation only doctor experts-visiteurs run it.1 HAS says it is never an evaluation of the team's diagnostic or therapeutic decisions.3
- Keep the patient list ready daily. Reason for admission, age and date of entry for every patient in the services visited.
- Explain the method to patients. HAS offers a leaflet the establishment can give the patient who is asked.
- Rehearse with real records. A colleague meets a patient, then the team, then reads the record, as the expert-visiteur will.
- Check what the patient knows. Their rights, the information on their care, how to give feedback and how to complain.
- Keep the record able to answer. Consent, the personne de confiance, the care plan and the discharge plan, signed and timed.
- Service ______ Patient profile ______
- Patient consented, yes or no ______
- Patient knows how to give feedback and complain ______
- Team account matches the record ______
- Consent and personne de confiance recorded ______
- Gaps ______ Owner ______
When an impératif is missed
A No on any element of an impératif criterion opens a fiche anomalie describing the facts. The coordinator may arrange more evaluation time, and the bilan d'étape reports it the next morning.2 What experts-visiteurs say at the restitution does not predict the decision, which the Commission de certification takes.2
Questions
Does the patient traceur judge our clinical decisions?
No. HAS says the method never evaluates the team's diagnostic or therapeutic decisions.
Can we refuse an expert-visiteur?
Yes, within two weeks of notification, if they work within 50 km, worked at the establishment in the last five years, or have a conflict of interest.
Is the final restitution compulsory?
It is planned by default, but the establishment may choose not to hold it.
Sources
- 1Haute Autorité de santé, 2025Référentiel, Certification des établissements de santé pour la qualité des soins, version 2025Read source
- 2Haute Autorité de santé, 2026Guide méthodologique, Certification des établissements de santé pour la qualité des soins, version 2026Read source
- 3Haute Autorité de santé, 2025Comprendre la certification pour la qualité des soinsRead source
- 4Haute Autorité de santé, 2026Mettre en oeuvre le 6e cycle de certificationRead source
Written by the wai team from Haute Autorité de santé guidance, checked on 16 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. Neither HAS nor any ARS endorses wai or any software.