The multidisciplinary medical center Leleka plans to renew the international JCI (Joint Commission International) certificate, confirming quality standards in healthcare, said the operating director of the medical center Vadym Zukin.

“In December 2022, the Leleka multidisciplinary medical center provided confirmation of its activities to the JCI accreditation union and the validity of the certificate was extended by one year. In December 2023, we plan to undergo a full online audit by international auditors,” he told the agency on the eve of World Patient Safety Day, which is celebrated on September 17.

According to Zukin, the big advantage of JCI is that its implementation "requires constant living according to certain standards, so the actual preparation for inspections does not take much time, because we fulfill all the requirements every day.”

Commenting on the possibility of complying with JCI standards during martial law, Zukin emphasized that “JCI standards, when implemented, are deeply rooted in the corporate culture of the hospital, and doctors, even during war, cannot imagine their activities in any other way than in compliance with JCI standards.”

“When in 2022, for objective reasons, the obstetric department of the Leleka medical center worked for several months on the basis of one of the state maternity hospitals, our management did not set out to conduct activities there according to JCI standards. However, thanks to the fact that all the employees of our team can no longer operate, we have done everything possible to comply with JCI standards even during the period of temporary relocation,” he said.

At the same time, Zukin does not expect Ukrainian clinics to intensify the receipt of international certificates in the near future. At the same time, in his opinion, a number of large private Ukrainian clinics are ready to implement such standards.

“You shouldn’t expect such a number of hospitals with JCI accreditation, as, for example, in Israel or the UAE, in Ukraine in the near future. However, there are indeed several large private hospitals that, I am convinced, are capable of raising their level to JCI standards and receiving accreditation. Obviously, if it weren’t for a full-scale war, there would be more medical centers accredited by this prestigious system,” he said.

Zukin noted that due to Russian military aggression, most private medical institutions face significant financial problems, the solution of which requires a lot of time, resources and effort. However, all of them continue to strictly comply with the standards of quality and safety of hospital operations, without weakening control in this area.

“It is obvious that now we are not talking about obtaining JCI accreditation by government institutions, at least in the near future. Among the reasons are economic factors, in particular the insufficient differentiation of national healthcare system tariffs for medical care, depending on the level of quality and safety,” he said.

Zukin noted that “the quality of medicine is not measured only by JCI standards; there are other, less popular, but serious quality control systems.”

“There is an example of other countries, for example the Czech Republic, where they took JCI standards as a basis when reforming their own national accreditation system,” he said.

Certification by Joint Commission International (USA) is considered the most prestigious international accreditation system for medical institutions, the purpose of which is to stimulate the continuous improvement of the work of medical organizations in the world and their compliance with high internationally agreed upon requirements. The use of JCI standards assumes the highest level of medical organization.

JCI accreditation is considered the gold standard for quality in healthcare worldwide.

JCI currently accredits healthcare facilities in the United States and more than 85 other countries around the world. JCI standards are recognized as the highest level of medical quality and safety by the World Health Organization.

The multidisciplinary medical center Leleka passed JCI certification in December 2019 and became the first clinic in Ukraine to successfully pass JCI accreditation. The center received the Gold Seal of Approval from JCI.

JCI standards are the most difficult to implement compared to other quality systems existing in the world. At the same time, they are the most effective in the world. To obtain JCI accreditation, the Leleka team began preparations, which lasted almost two years, at the beginning of 2018. Such a short time for setting up all processes is considered almost a record, as such preparation usually lasts 3-5 years.

During the accreditation process of a medical institution, a comprehensive detailed check is carried out - from doctors’ diplomas and drug labeling to fire safety measures. Particular attention is paid to the rights of the patient and their implementation. One of the main factors is that JCI accreditation is not a static process, but a program of continuous improvement and development.