HAS Accreditation (French Health Authority)
Dr. Adam Vardi, Urological and Andrological Surgeon in Paris, received accreditation from the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) in January 2021.
For 15 years, the HAS has been encouraging doctors to voluntarily commit to a risk management approach, based on the reporting of adverse events associated with care (AEAC).
The goal of HAS accreditation is to improve the quality of professional practices and patient safety.
Why commit to the Haute Autorité de Santé?
Accreditation applies to doctors practicing a so-called “high-risk” specialty. Dr. Adam Vardi, as a Urological and Andrological Surgeon in Paris, has chosen to engage in this process.
This commitment requires the professional to report various information to the HAS:
- Declare adverse events associated with care (AEAC)
- Implement best practice recommendations
- Carry out various activities such as practice assessments or the creation of registries
By processing this information, the HAS aims to:
- Improve the quality of professional practices
- Reduce the number of adverse events associated with care
- Limit the consequences of AEACs for the benefit of patient safety
Prioritizing patient safety: a goal of Dr. Vardi in Paris
The aim of accreditation is to draw lessons from accumulated experience through the collection and analysis of adverse events.
These lessons, or “Patient Safety Solutions” (PSS), are an important complement to traditional medical recommendations.
Through the experience feedback database of the accreditation system, known as the REX database, doctors can acquire the necessary experience to combat these adverse events. The lessons drawn from it result in the development of “Patient Safety Solutions” (PSS).
To implement these solutions, the HAS and the college of accredited physicians have drawn on the analysis of events occurring daily during the delivery of care by healthcare professionals.
This analysis helps identify human, technical, and organizational causes in order to better understand and anticipate situations deemed risky by caregivers.
The information collected serves as a basis for research and helps improve practices, reduce the risk of adverse events, or mitigate their consequences.
Feedback for better patient care
Committing to accreditation means committing to a feedback process. It allows for the analysis of difficult and complex situations that arise during care and medical interventions.
The goal is to draw and share lessons to improve practices, behaviors, and organizations in the future.
This simultaneously helps develop a “safety culture” — collective ways of thinking and acting that contribute to patient safety and quality of care.
Improving care and safety through feedback is a core priority for Dr. Adam Vardi, Urological and Andrological Surgeon in Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Improving risk management by Dr. Adam Vardi in Paris
The accreditation system acts as a virtuous cycle. Specialists first focus on the highest-risk situations. Accredited professionals contribute to discussions by describing adverse events they have encountered in their practice.
In doing so, they help develop new professional recommendations and adapt their practices using new protocols.
The analysis of these events allows each specialty to reassess risk situations and develop patient safety solutions.
Key figures for accreditation as of November 15, 2020
- 16 specialties, out of 19 potential ones, are currently approved (interventional pulmonology, ophthalmology, and medical intensive care do not currently participate in the accreditation scheme)
- Approximately 7,600 doctors are actively engaged in the accreditation process, including 1,300 working in teams
- 178 medical teams are actively engaged in the accreditation process
- 514 expert physicians have been trained by the HAS, representing the various specialties, including 11 in 2019
- Approximately 127,000 adverse events associated with care (AEAC) have been analyzed, accepted, and recorded in the accreditation system’s experience feedback database, including 8,250 in 2019
What is the Haute Autorité de Santé?
The Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) is an independent public authority of a scientific nature, created by the law of August 13, 2004, relating to health insurance.
Its mission is to strengthen the quality and sustainability of France’s healthcare system. It works to improve the quality of the healthcare system in order to ensure that everyone has lasting and equitable access to care that is as effective, safe, and efficient as possible.