Editorial Policy issues in accreditation

Since the 1990s the structure and financing of many health care systems have been reformed and, for the first time, a number of governments have accepted that quality assurance of health care systems should become a government re-sponsibility and not left, as in the past, to professionals and health service managers. Pressure had been increasing during the previous decade for governments to become more in-volved in health care quality. In 1984, for example, a regional committee of the World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted 38 targets for attainment of health for all by the year 2000. One target required that by 1990 all member states should have built effective mechanisms for ensuring quality of patient care within their heakh care systems. The target recommended establishing methods and procedures for systematically moni-toring the quality of care given to patients, by making assessment and regulation permanent components of health professionals ' regular activities, and by providing all health care personnel with training in quality assurance [1]. Slowly, governments have begun to respond, reviewing processes for promoting quality achievement. In some countries, fo