International healthcare accreditation

The growing global demand for safe, effective, and high-quality healthcare has led to increased interest in international healthcare accreditation. Delivering healthcare that meets adequate standards is a complex and multifaceted process. Healthcare is a vital and pervasive issue; it influences all aspects of societies. It has medical, social, political, ethical, business, and financial ramifications. Worldwide, healthcare services may be provided by the public sector or by the private sector, or a combination of both. These services may be delivered in hospitals or accessed through community-based practitioners, such as general medical practitioners and dental surgeons.

This occurs in most parts of the developed world— a setting in which people continue to express increasingly high expectations for the quality of care. This trend is especially strong in nations where socialised medical systems exist, primarily in the European Union. The United States is a notable exception among developed Western countries in regard to its availability and affordability of healthcare. In 2007, 45.7 million US citizens (i.e. 15.3% of the national population) had no health insurance whatsoever Despite this, in 2007 the USA spent nearly $2.3 trillion on healthcare, roughly 16% of the country's gross domestic product, and more than twice as much per capita as the OECD average. Some US citizens unable to access adequate healthcare within the country are seeking healthcare internationally. This phenomenon is often referred to as "medical tourism", or "global healthcare".