Accreditation Canada releases 2010 Report on ROPs to improve quality and patient safety in health services

In celebration of Canadian Patient Safety Week, Accreditation Canada has released its 2010 Report on Required Organizational Practices, which presents accreditation results from Canadian health organizations that underwent accreditation in 2009. The report focuses on national results for Accreditation Canada's Required Organizational Practices (ROPs), which are evidence-based practices that minimize risk and contribute to improving quality and patient safety in health services.

Highlights in the 2010 Report on Required Organizational Practices: Results from Canadian Health Organizations include:

• A 28% improvement in the implementation of a falls prevention strategy (from 42% to 70%)
• Low ROP compliance rates for medication reconciliation at admission (46%) and at transfer (44%), which are processes of identifying the most complete and accurate list of medications a patient is taking and using it to provide correct medications for the patient at every point of care
• Improvement and strength in practices related to infection prevention and control (97%) 

"Overall, ROP compliance results from Canadian health organizations showed significant improvement from 2008 to 2009," says Wendy Nicklin, President and CEO of Accreditation Canada. "These inroads to patient safety are very encouraging. On the other hand, results also demonstrate that work still needs to be done to improve medication reconciliation. We look forward to continuing to contribute to health care improvement through partnering with health care organizations and providing them with an accreditation program that includes the tools and processes they need to succeed."

The implementation and monitoring of ROPs is one of the many ways that Accreditation Canada plays a central role in fostering ongoing quality improvement and high quality care. Organizations that participate in accreditation are expected to meet the ROPs in order to become accredited.

The report is available on Accreditation Canada's website:

http://www.accreditation.ca/news-and-publications/publications/report-on-rops/