Accreditation

AHMRC provides support and a range of resources to ACCHO Member organisations throughout NSW to achieve and maintain safety, quality improvement processes to achieve and maintain accreditation status. This is in accordance with applicable standards including health service, whole-of-organisation accreditation, or certification and other relevant to community services operating within NSW.

This includes promoting accreditation, supporting organisations to develop and implement relevant business systems and to integrate accreditation with broader service delivery activities.

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation is used in various Aboriginal Health and Community sectors to ensure that organisations meet a set of standards relevant to the programs or services they deliver. It involves the organisation being reviewed by an external team to assess the extent to which it has met an approved set of standards. External accreditation is a vital means by which a health and community service can demonstrate to its patients, clients, board, and community that its services are safe and of high quality, that it has effective systems for important areas, such as risk management, and that it is actively committed to quality improvements. Achieving accreditation means that your service has been assessed as having reached defined standards of excellence in safety and quality in primary healthcare.

Accreditation:

• Requires meeting defined criteria or Standards.
• Measures and improves performance outcomes.
• Assures quality and performance for owners, operators, managers, staff, funding bodies and consumers.
• Helps to drive continuous improvement and best practice at a health and community sector level.

This provides:

• Independent recognition that our organisations and services meet the requirements of defined criteria and standards.
• Assurance to services operators, managers, staff, funding bodies and consumers about the quality of our performance and service delivery.

Key benefits of accreditation:

• Promoting the quality and safety of the care and service provided to consumers of the service2.
• Giving consumers and the community confidence in the service being delivered
• Educating and engaging staff in the provision of quality care and services4
• Creating a culture of quality within the service environments
• Enhancing consumer focus by responding to feedback and expectations
• Reducing overall business risks
• A structured way to evidence compliance with regulatory requirements.

An approach to accreditation is guided by five principles. These five guiding principles underlying the provision of quality accreditation services are:

• Excellence
• Simplicity
• Support
• Independence
• Expertise

Training and Support

The Australian Digital Health Agency provides a broad range of resources, learning tools, and support channels to help ACCHSs, clinicians, and community members engage confidently with My Health Record and other digital health services.

1. eLearning Modules, Online Courses & Recorded Sessions

The Australian Digital Health Agency offers a variety of eLearning and training opportunities tailored for healthcare organisations and individuals. These include online learning sessions, recorded webinars, and professional development courses.

• eLearning
  – Online learning sessions and recorded webinars with subtitles and Auslan translation https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/healthcare-providers/webinars
• – eLearning modules through the Online Learning Portal (training.digitalhealth.gov.au) https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/healthcare-providers/initiatives-and-programs/my-health-record
• – eLearning module on developing a security and access policy for your organisation https://training.digitalhealth.gov.au/enrol/index.php?id=65
• eLearning modules specific to the ACCHS
  An introduction to My Health Record
  Using My Health Record in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health service

Videos

• Trusting My Health Record to securely store health information – Michael Brown’s story
• Latoya’s journey: My Health Record for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities – English
• Latoya’s journey: My Health Record for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities – Yumpla Tok

Webinar recordings

• Digital health tools are a game changer
• Digital health series for Aboriginal Medical Service staff

Training

• Find the full range of eLearning training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health

Patient resources

• My Health Record youth storybook pdf (PDF, 2.9 MB)
• My Health Record adult storybook (PDF, 2.81 MB)
• My Health Record parent storybook (PDF, 4.52 MB)

2. Podcasts & webinars

The Australian Digital Health Agency podcast series features digital health experts discussing important topics such as My Health Record participation, cybersecurity, and safe data handling. Episodes include practical insights and real-world examples of digital health implementation. These podcasts are ideal for staff training, discussions, and professional learning. https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/healthcare-providers/webinars

There are specific webinars for ACCHS staff, such as

• How to access your My Health Record
• My Health Record overview documents for health workers
• Setting access to your My Health Record
• My Health Record for Health Workers

3. Getting Started & Registration Support

The Australian Digital Health Agency provides step-by-step guidance for organisations and individuals who are new to My Health Record. This includes registration assistance, linking My Health Record via myGov, and managing privacy and access settings. Organisations can also request free online or in-person training sessions by contacting the Australian Digital Health Agency’s Education Team at education@digitalhealth.gov.au

4. Help Lines, Contact and Support Channels