Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI)

Programs

SafeCare Foundation

last updated May 24, 2012

Overview

Implementation Partner(s): 
Joint Commission International, PharmAccess Foundation, Cohsasa
Legal Status: 
Private (unspecified)
Year Launched: 
2011
Stage: 
Pilot/startup stage
Income Level of Target Population: 
All income levels

Funding

Primary Source of Funding: 
Donor

Scale

Number of Facilities Operated/Networked: 
107 Facilities Accredited
Summary: 

The SafeCare Foundation is designed for health care providers in resource-poor settings to assist them in step-wise quality improvement and the delivery of safer care to their patients.

Program goals/rationale: 

The SafeCare Initiative's vision is to become the internationally recognized platform for healthcare providers, health organizations and governments who have a desire to improve the standard of health care in resource-poor countries. Gradually the Initiative intends to mature into a knowledge-sharing platform that encourages people to think and talk about quality of health care, especially as it relates to resource-restricted countries.

Key program components: 

The SafeCare methodology issues a graded "Certificate of Improvement" to different categories of health care facilities ranging from nurse-driven health clinics to district hospitals. Certificates range from level 1 to 5, which allows for demonstrating incremental achievement in compliance with the SafeCare Foundation Standards.

Health care facilities are rewarded with a "Certificate of Improvement" every time they reach the next pre-defined SafeCare step. If executed completely (SafeCare Level 5), this qualifies a facility for formal accreditation trajectories for example through COHSASA or JCI. The uniqueness is that the SafeCare route is all about relative improvement and does not demotivate African facilities with unreachable international absolute quality norms. Instead, SafeCare offers a step-wise approach, confronting facilities with incremental challenges with respect to quality and patient safety and eventually rewarding and motivating these facilities with recognition through its certification system. This step-wise improvement process can thus be used by governments, donors and companies to implement performance-based financing incentives. In addition, SafeCare can be offered in combination with various capacity building interventions, like access to affordable loans through the Medical Credit Fund or inclusion in innovative insurance programs like those supported by the Health Insurance Fund.

Program history: 

In 2010 in Amsterdam, the Joint Commission International (JCI) of the U.S, the PharmAccess Foundation of the Netherlands and the Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa (COHSASA) held talks to address the possibility of applying universal standards in developing countries. The discussion focused on creating standards that provide a solid, secure and realistic framework to ensure that patients receive safe and optimal care despite resource constraints.

The SafeCare Initiative is the brainchild of these founder organizations and is built on their worldwide experience.

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