The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA, ;
Irish: ''An t-Údarás um Fhaisnéis agus Cáilíocht Sláinte'' ) is a statutory,
government-funded agency in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
which monitors the safety and quality of the
healthcare
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pro ...
and social care systems.
Mooted as early as 2001, HIQA received its powers and mandate in May 2007 under the Health Act 2007. The Authority also exercises functions under the Child Care Act 1991 and the Children Act 2001.
Hospitals
The Authority has produced a number of reports and recommendations on the safety of care in both public and private hospitals.
HIQA is also tasked with inspecting hygiene standards in public hospitals.
As well as performing hospital evaluations, HIQA is charged with implementing
electronic health record
An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of patient and population electronically stored health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared throu ...
s and information governance, investigating waiting times, and protecting
whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
s.
Nursing homes
After the
Leas Cross scandal, there was increased demand for inspection of both private and public nursing homes. As a result, HIQA was given powers to register, inspect and, via application to court, close nursing homes and similar residential services delivering sub-standard care.
Social care
HIQA has issued reports on foster care services, describing a lack of assessment of carers and criticising the "significant failure" by the
Health Service Executive
The Health Service Executive (HSE) ( ga, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005 ...
to monitor children in care. In particular, HIQA raised concerns over the
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
and North East areas.
See also
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Department of Health (Ireland)
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Evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...
*
Health Service Executive
The Health Service Executive (HSE) ( ga, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005 ...
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Hospital accreditation
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Joint Commission
The Joint Commission is a United States-based nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c) organization that accredits more than 22,000 US health care organizations and programs. The international branch accredits medical services from around the world. A majori ...
*
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Medical ethics
Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...
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Patient safety
Patient safety is a discipline that emphasizes safety in health care through the prevention, reduction, reporting and analysis of error and other types of unnecessary harm that often lead to adverse patient events. The frequency and magnitude of ...
*
Patient safety organization
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URAC
References
{{reflist
Quality assurance
Health care quality