International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development

Honestly, I wasn't sure what I'd find going into this. The question I started with was pretty simple — does hospital accreditation actually improve care, or is it mostly just a compliance exercise that burns out staff? I looked at three hospitals in Ohio over 18 months. One fully accredited, one halfway through the process, one that had dropped it entirely. Data came from 450 patient records, surveys from 112 nurses, and readmission tracking. The accredited hospital had 23% fewer medication errors and noticeably lower readmission rates. But nurses there were also more stressed than anywhere else, especially around survey time. My overall finding — accreditation helps, but the way it currently works creates as many problems as it solves.

Ms. Shraddha Math, Ms. Madhavi Chinchwade,"Impact Of Accreditation and Quality Standards On Health Care Outcomes" International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development, V9(3): Page(801-805) May-June 2026. ISSN: 2581-7175. www.ijsred.com. Published by Scientific and Academic Research Publishing.