Enabling quality improvement within primary healthcare through the CCHSA accreditation program.

Progress is being made on the journey to strengthen primary healthcare within Canada. As an essential component of the healthcare continuum, primary healthcare must be more effectively linked and its role optimized for better patient/client outcomes to be realized. The Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA) is an enabler to change and is committed to contributing to the strengthening of primary healthcare. During the first 20 years, the focus of CCHSA's accreditation process was on facility-based acute and long-term care. Since that time, accreditation standards have been established across a wide range of healthcare sectors and specialty areas. CCHSA's accreditation program will increasingly contribute to strengthening the essential and integral role of primary healthcare in the healthcare system.