This review is an update of an earlier review where we aim to present available documentation of about the effect of certification and accreditation of hospitals.
We searched for systematic reviews and primary studies with the following designs: randomized controlled trials, controlled before and after studies, and interrupted time series. We included studies regarding all types of hospitals as long as the intervention included certification or accreditation.
The literature search identified 522 unique references. None of them fulfilled our inclusion criteria regarding study design.
There is a lack of documentation to assess the effect of certification and accreditation of hospitals.
Keywords: Certification; Accreditation; Quality Improvement; Hospitals.
Copyright ©2009 by The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH).