The scope and challenges for accreditation of quality care in mental health – Perspectives from India

Abstract

Accreditation is usually a voluntary program and an essential step in ensuring quality in healthcare settings. Quality in health care and accreditation has gained importance over the last two decades worldwide. Mental health laws, policies, and regulations emphasize on improving the quality to meet the standards of care. Accreditation of mental health care is associated with unique challenges as compared to accreditation of a general medical facility. The information on the scope and challenges in accreditation of mental health care facilities is relatively sparse when compared to the latter. We discuss the development of policies and standard operating procedures that are essential for accreditation of a hospital providing mental health care. Our article provides a framework for accreditation of a hospital providing mental health care facilities in a low-and middle-income (LAMI) country.