Espaillat Cabral receives HFAP international health quality accreditation
The Espaillat Cabral Institute is the first Dominican health center, and first outside the United States, to receive the HFAP international health quality accreditation, states an official press release from the center.
The certification granted to the ophthalmological center, founded in Santo Domingo in 1970, comes from the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP).
Achieving an HFAP accreditation for quality in health care is a recognition that a medical center meets or exceeds the international standards required in medicine, with a special focus on patient safety.
This is only possible after exhausting a rigorous multi-year process that covers numerous stages of independent evaluation, including external audits.
By conferring accreditation, HFAP certifies that the Espaillat Cabral Institute meets all quality guidelines in medical care regulations and operational processes, following best practices from maintenance procedures and updating of:
- Medical equipment
- Infrastructure
- Practice guidelines
- Clinical protocols with international scientific evidence
- Patient clinical history
- Sterilization and infection control protocols
- Excellence in the operating room
- Confidentiality of personal data
- Diagnostic information and medical procedures
- Postoperative monitoring.
Compliance with international standards of quality in health ensures that patients in facilities certified by HFAP –like the Espaillat Cabral Institute– receive proper and consistent care throughout the diagnostic and treatment process.
Verified statistics show that their patients show visual results comparable to the best ophthalmology clinics worldwide.
HFAP is one of the leading accreditation programs in the United States, with more than 75 years of service in the certification of facilities that operate under the Medicare system.
Espaillat Cabral features
The institute is the first ophthalmology clinic and the first medical center dedicated to a single specialty in the Dominican Republic. For almost half a century it has been a national and regional reference in its field.
In addition to the endorsement received in all its operational processes, the infrastructure of the Espaillat Cabral Institute –whose architectural plans were reviewed by the Joint Commission International– complies with the international standards applied to hospital buildings in the United States.
The HFAP certification consolidated its position as a leader in quality ophthalmology services in the Caribbean, offering its patients a close, ethical and personalized treatment, meeting the highest global standards.
In addition to its local patients covered by the main insurance companies in the country, the institute receives patients referred by international insurers, as well as patients of limited resources as part of its corporate social responsibility.
What is the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program – HFAP
HFAP is authorized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to survey all hospitals for compliance with the Medicare Conditions of Participation and Coverage (CMS).
Originally created in 1945 to conduct an objective review of services provided by osteopathic hospitals, HFAP has maintained its deeming authority continuously since the inception of CMS in 1965 and meets or exceeds the standards required by CMS/Medicare to provide accreditation to all hospitals, ambulatory care/surgical facilities, mental health and physical rehabilitation facilities, clinical laboratories and critical access hospitals.
The entity’s surveying process and standards benefit from oversight by multiple medical professionals, including both allopathic and osteopathic disciplines.
HFAP also is recognized by the federal government and:
- National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
- Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
- State Departments of Public Health
- Managed care organizations
- Insurance companies