Rede D'Or Differentiates Itself by an Unprecedented Model of Quality Validation

In 2023, Rede D'Or, the largest health company in Latin America, began publishing in the country's prominent newspapers and magazines about the quality of its hospitals. Following suit, other health institutions have done the same. This is quite a gain for patients nationwide. With greater access to information, patients are now more informed to choose their healthcare institutions. Such a movement, however, has raised questions: how reliable is the data and information these institutions are providing?

Rede D'Or values the accuracy and integrity of the data it shares with the public. They pride themselves on having the most extensive Technical Quality program in private hospitals in the country. It is mandatory that all their hospitals are evaluated by external and independent organizations. To do this, Rede D'Or implemented, on a national scale, Brazil's most extensive program to evaluate external accuracy of performance indicators.

Double-Checked Data

At Rede D'Or, the external verification of quality indicators occurs in two independent stages, which is an innovative model in the Brazilian health sector.

Initially, the hospitals deliver a report with their care data to the company's quality sector. Then, the quality sector checks the accuracy of the data reported in an internal audit stage and records the results of the technical quality indicators. These results are verified twice by external parties: the accreditors and the independent external auditor.

The use of accreditation entities is historic in Rede D'Or, which seeks to have all its hospitals accredited. The accreditors, institutions specialized in assessing the quality of health organizations, are validated mainly by the International Society for the Quality of Health Care (ISQua).

Rede Dor 2 — "An organization that has obtained ISQua EEA organizational accreditation demonstrates in practice that it can use this tool to provide an assessment that meets international quality standards," says Dr. Carsten Engel, CEO of ISQua—International Society... Accreditation Canada

In this phase, accreditors such as the Joint Commission International (JCI-USA), Accreditation Canada, Agencia de Calidad Sanitaria de Andalucía (ACSA-Spain) and the National Accreditation Organization (ONA-Brazil), visit the units of Rede D'Or and verify their technical quality indicators.

This check is carried out by highly trained professionals who investigate everything that happens in a healthcare organization. They consult documents, check databases, interview health professionals, talk to leaders, evaluate data from tests and read patient records, among other processes. Cross-referencing information makes it possible to check if the data was collected correctly and if the indicators evolved as expected.

In an innovative move for Brazil, Rede D'Or decided to adopt a recurring independent external audit of its technical quality indicators, generating an additional layer of security and reliability.

Rede Dor 3 — "The objective of the external audit is to carefully verify the recorded data to ascertain the accuracy of the information," explains Dr. Helidea Lima, Director of Corporate Quality at Rede D'Or. "We evaluate the reliability...

This double process of independent evaluation takes place continuously in the 73 hospitals of Rede D'Or. Each year, a complete cycle of external evaluations covering all units is concluded.

Rede Dor 4 — "Hospital accreditation is a fundamental pillar to ensure patient safety, ensuring standards of excellence and quality in the health services provided," adds Leslee Thompson, CEO of the Health Standards Organization & Accreditation Canada (HSO)." Accreditation Canada

Quality at Scale

The external evaluations are part of Rede D'Or's Technical Quality Program. The largest of its kind in private institutions in the country, it monitors 50 indicators in all hospitals in the network. The data that is collected points to the successful initiatives that, gathered in the Manual of Care Practices of Rede D'Or, allow the successful experience of one unit to be replicated in another, regardless of geographical distance.

With the internal audit and the continuous double external audit, Rede D'Or establishes a solid foundation to grow and expand its national operations, reinforcing the commitment to the quality of care for each patient throughout Brazil. "The gradual construction of Rede D'Or's internal audit activities has allowed the incorporation of processes used by teams of external evaluators, as it identifies good practices in its hospital units. I emphasize that this has generated a very positive impact on the Brazilian health segment, raising the levels of quality of care, including among its main competitors, increasing the quality perceived by patients", emphasizes Franklin Lindolf Bloedorn, international evaluator at the Joint Commission International (JCI - USA).