Benefits and difficulties in the implementation of hospital accreditation : The voice of quality managers *

Objective: To learn the perceptions of hospital quality managers about the benefits and difficulties that arise from accreditation. Methods: A descriptive, qualitative and exploratory study was developed with five quality managers from hospitals of each of the three levels of national accreditation and one which lost its accreditation. Taped interviews were carried out with the participants, which were guided by the question: Tell us about the benefits and difficulties to obtain and maintain hospital accreditation. Transcribed data were submitted to thematic content analysis. Results: Categories of "benefits" and "difficulties" related to accreditation were created, each of them with two specific subcategories. Conclusion: In spite of the barriers related to the organizational culture and staff turnover, accreditation was mentioned by managers as beneficial to the quality of management and care because, through the standardization of processes and user centralization, the provision of care services is focused on quality.