Hospital Accreditation to Shift Beyond Checklist-Based Scoring

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ministry of Health plans to revise hospital quality assessment methods after identifying a gap between “paripurna” (comprehensive) accreditation ratings and the actual quality of care experienced by patients and healthcare workers.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said external assessments have long relied on meeting specific indicators or checklists within set intervals. Such evaluations, he noted, do not reflect the daily reality of patient care.

“External assessments tend to be checklist‑based or formalistic, focusing on requirements hospitals must meet every three or five years. They do not truly assess how patients are served at any given moment,” Minister Budi said during a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR RI) in Jakarta on Monday, September 14, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

He said public feedback--submitted formally and through social media--shows a discrepancy between hospital quality indicators and the experiences of patients and healthcare workers.

“Patients do not visit hospitals once every three or five years to evaluate services. They use healthcare services daily,” he said.

The Ministry of Health will incorporate patient and healthcare workforce experiences into hospital accreditation. Future assessments will ensure patients receive timely, high‑quality care. Key issues include maternal and child mortality, delayed payments to doctors and healthcare workers, and difficulties in procuring medication.

He emphasized that the overhaul aims to ensure accreditation ratings accurately reflect the quality of care provided.

“We are refining this process so that a ‘paripurna’ rating truly signifies excellent care. It should indicate top‑quality personnel and effective performance,” he said.

Under the new concept, patients will evaluate hospital services using simple satisfaction icons, such as smiley or frowning faces. He cited feedback systems used in restrooms at Singapore’s Changi Airport as an example.

Evaluations can be conducted at various stages of care, including registration, waiting time to see a doctor, medication delivery, and patient interactions with doctors.

“We look at each key process. Whether registration takes long, whether the wait for the doctor is long, whether obtaining medication takes long, and whether Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS) patients are treated dismissively,” he said.

Hospital quality will also be assessed based on clinical and governance aspects, including surgical outcomes, readmissions, and financial management. The results will be published to strengthen public oversight of hospital service quality.

Minister Budi stressed that the changes are not intended to punish hospitals but to improve patient care and the well‑being of healthcare personnel.

He added that accreditation results will eventually be linked to payments from the BPJS Kesehatan, although this will not affect hospital revenue within the next five years.

“A drop or change in accreditation status will not affect hospital revenue. Our goal is to gradually improve hospital quality over the next five years,” he said. ***