Interested stakeholders gathered at meetings at COHSASA headquarters in both August and October 2011 to begin the process of developing an accreditation programme for General and Family Practitioners in South Africa.
The General and Family Practitioner Accreditation Programme proceeds apace with the development of standards that cover all aspects of service delivery, from facilities to patient rights. Feedback from a wide range of stakeholders has been incorporated into a first draft of standards and these are now ready for piloting at several sites throughout the country, ranging from individual to group practices.
The accreditation programme has been developed using standards guided by the principles set down by the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua). A steering committee has been appointed representing practising GPs, professional bodies and experts in the field of standard development, quality improvement and accreditation.