International Medical Travel Association: Accreditation Agencies with Standardized...

International Medical Travel Association: Accreditation Agencies with Standardized Infrastructure and Oversight Ensure Quality Care, Patient Safety

Responds to rising trend of ad hoc "accreditors"
WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
The International Medical Travel Association (IMTA;
www.intlmta.org), a not-for-profit association representing the broad
and diverse interests of medical travelers and the medical travel
industry, has issued a position statement urging organizations and
individuals offering accreditation or certification to closely examine
their services and infrastructure. The IMTA sets forth its view that
it is neither sufficient nor professionally respectable for an
organization to simply declare itself a grantor of accreditation while
lacking the requisite infrastructure and oversight.

"We believe that with patient safety at stake, accreditation
standards and processes must be vetted by internationally recognized
accreditation organizations and government agencies," says Steven
Tucker, M.D., president of the IMTA and a leading U.S. board-certified
medical oncologist. "The emergence of trade groups and others
declaring themselves as quality accreditors or certification
authorities not only threatens the integrity of existing
organizations, but also creates market confusion at a time when global
outsourcing of medical care is a growing phenomenon."

IMTA advocates that all international hospitals and other
healthcare institutions be held to high standards, whether through a
country's own regulatory system or through internationally accepted
standards set by recognized accreditation authorities, such as the
Joint Commission International (JCI) and others.

According to healthcare quality expert Sharon Kleefield, Ph.D,
Harvard Medical School, "Without tested standards and strict
regulation for competent and independent surveys, accreditation
becomes meaningless, and patients go unprotected. The international
healthcare community must work toward creating and enforcing such
standards of accreditation."

Over the years, patients, practitioners, payers, and governments
have come to associate accreditation with a trusted and tested body of
professionals and regulations, designed to protect healthcare
consumers and professionals alike. As patients travel across borders,
accreditation of hospitals must continue to offer a minimum baseline
level of quality and safety assurance.

Increasingly, many countries and health ministries have developed
their own sets of quality and safety standards, thereby maintaining
local accreditation oversight. Typically, they seek guidance from
accreditation organizations with proven international experience,
including but not limited to the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Accreditation organizations have specific internal requirements
and processes, including:

-- a designated infrastructure for oversight of the accreditation
process

-- a team of internationally respected professionals who have
expertise in writing standards and monitoring them to
determine any necessary changes or additions

-- accreditation of the organization itself (through
organizations such as the International Society for Quality in
Health Care)

-- no perceived or actual conflict of interest at any time
between the accrediting organization and the specifically
trained accreditors performing the surveys.

"As a result of IMTA's efforts, we are seeing a trend of would-be
'accreditors' deploying more appropriate terminology," says Tucker.
"Those who wish to provide accreditation services in the future need
to know there are rules to follow."

For a full text of the IMTA position paper visit:

http://www.intlmta.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=15134
&name=DLFE-804.pdf (Due to its length, this URL may need to be
copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the
extra space if one exists.)

About The IMTA

The International Medical Travel Association is a global
organization of stakeholders in the international medical travel
industry, representing leading health care providers, medical travel
facilitators and related industry service providers around the world.
IMTA supports the development of international industry standards and
best practices that promote and advance medical quality, safety, and
transparency for the international patient, and that preserve and
protect the doctor-patient relationship. IMTA, www.intlmta.org is a
not-for-profit organization funded by membership dues and programs.

CPR Strategic Marketing
Rachael Fisher, 201-641-1911 x49
rfisher@cpronline.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008