Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a part of Mubadala’s network of healthcare providers, said it has earned the Joint Commission International’s (JCI) Gold Seal of Approval for hospital accreditation after only 18 months of operations.

With this recognition, the medical campus has set a new benchmark for patient care. It is a global symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care, said a statement from Mubadala.

According to experts, accreditation has become a priority for healthcare hubs around the world, with many countries moving toward making accreditation mandatory.

By 2020, only accredited healthcare providers will be allowed to operate in the UAE, aligned with the country’s vision to develop a world-class healthcare sector following international standards, they stated.

The UAE currently leads the world with the highest number of accredited organizations, and progressing toward international accreditation for all healthcare facilities.

Expert surveyors from JCI carried out a rigorous evaluation of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s hospital standards across emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership and medication management.

The surveyors assessed the hospital on more than 1,000 combined standards and measurable elements and found that it was compliant with standards, scoring particularly highly in the areas of International Patient Safety Goals, Access to Care & Continuity of Care, Patient & Family Rights, Patient & Family Education, and Quality and Patient Safety.

Dr Tomislav Mihaljevic, the CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said: "We are extremely proud of our achievements to date in providing high quality, international standards of care for our patients. Our motto across the hospital – for both clinical and non-clinical Caregivers – is Patients First."

"It is our guiding philosophy and shapes the decisions we make every day to ensure high quality of care and patient safety each and every day. The JCI survey is key external validation of the processes we’ve put in place and helps us identify where we can continuously improve to better serve our patients," he noted.

Steven A. Matarelli, who led the JCI survey team, said: "We commend Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi for its efforts in becoming a quality improvement organization. The medical campus has received our Gold Seal of Approval in just over a year of operations, a unique achievement."

"From our week-long survey across the hospital, it was evident that its commitment to patients runs throughout every system and process implemented within the organization," noted Dr Matarelli.

"New benchmarks were set with regard to quality and patient safety in the region. We encourage Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to share these best practices internationally," he added.-TradeArabia News Service