Innovation in Health Care Services and Hospital Ambulatory Accreditation as a Determinant of Perception of Quality of Care: A Quasi-Experimental Study for Colombia

Abstract

This study analyzed the perception of compliance with the four factors of innovation in medical services in two groups of patients after undergoing outpatient procedures in an accredited and a non-accredited hospital. Seventy-eight patients were treated at the accredited hospital and 80 at the non-accredited one. A quasi-experimental design based on a pre-test, post-test, and a focus group was applied. A Welch correction t-test and a Tau Kendall correlation coefficient were also applied. Patients treated in the accredited hospital considered that the four characteristics of innovation studied were better applied, and that accreditation in outpatient procedures improves the hospital to achieve its institutional objective. This research will contribute to understanding how innovation in healthcare impacts the perception of quality of observed patients. The present research document is the result of the joint work of the Research Group "Democracy and Modernization of the Colombian State".