Accréditation Sans Frontières · ASF Health Standards 9.0
Standard 2 · Reception & Information
5 criteria · base standard
Base standard. 5 criteria, of which 2 non-negotiable. Each criterion is numbered 2.Y, with its classification and verification questions.
Criteria
- 2.1 Patients Know Their Rights (NON-NEGOTIABLE)
- 2.2 Pricing Is Disclosed Before Care Begins (CORE)
- 2.3 Reception Desk Accessibility (NON-NEGOTIABLE)
- 2.4 Health Information Is Understandable, Not Just Provided (CORE)
- 2.5 Waiting and Queue Time Is Actively Managed (CORE)
2.1 Patients Know Their Rights
NON-NEGOTIABLE
A patient rights charter exists, is visibly displayed, and patients can describe it in their own words — not a document filed away that nobody references. The charter explicitly names privacy, dignity and respect, confidentiality, personal safety and security, how consent is granted, the right to refuse treatment, and recognition of the patient's cultural and spiritual preferences, including access to spiritual or religious care on request.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
- Is a patient rights charter visibly displayed in areas patients pass through?
Not filed in an office — posted somewhere a patient waiting or arriving would see it. - Is the charter written in plain language, in the languages patients speak?
A legal document patients cannot parse does not meet this, regardless of how thorough it is. - Can a patient asked directly describe at least one of their rights in their own words?
Not whether the charter exists — whether it reached them. - Does the charter explicitly state the patient's right to refuse treatment, with staff able to describe what happens in practice when a patient exercises it, not only a listed right with no process behind it?
An honoured right, not a line in a document with no defined practice behind it. - Is there an accessible process for a patient to request spiritual or religious care or accommodation of cultural practice, distinct from general cultural-awareness training for staff?
A specific, usable process a patient or family can invoke, not only staff sensitivity in the abstract.
2.2 Pricing Is Disclosed Before Care Begins
CORE
Patients receive clear, honest information about the cost of services before treatment begins, in a form they can understand and keep.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
- Is pricing information provided to patients before treatment begins, not only on the final invoice?
Cost disclosure after the fact does not allow informed decision-making. - Is pricing information given in a form the patient can keep and review, not only spoken once?
A verbal mention easily forgotten under stress is not the same as a document the patient can refer back to. - Can a patient describe, in their own words, roughly what they were told a procedure would cost?
Tests whether the disclosure registered, not just whether it technically happened.
2.3 Reception Desk Accessibility
NON-NEGOTIABLE
At least one reception or registration point is at a height a wheelchair user can approach and communicate with the receptionist at eye level — not looking up at a standard-height counter designed only for someone standing.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
- Is at least one reception or registration point at a height a wheelchair user can comfortably use?
Not the whole desk — at least one section usable at wheelchair height. - Can a wheelchair user communicate with the receptionist at eye level, not looking up at them?
Eye-level interaction, not speaking up over a counter edge. - Is the lower section kept clear and usable, not blocked by files, equipment, or signage?
A lower desk section that exists but is permanently cluttered does not meet this in practice.
2.4 Health Information Is Understandable, Not Just Provided
CORE
Health information given to patients — about their condition, options, and next steps — is delivered in plain language and verified as understood, not handed over in clinical terminology and assumed to have registered.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
- Is health information routinely delivered in plain language, avoiding unexplained medical terminology?
Accessible language, not clinical terms used without explanation. - Is patient understanding actively verified, for example through teach-back, rather than assumed from a nod?
An active check, not passive delivery followed by an assumption that it was understood. - Are information materials available in the languages the patient population needs, not just the primary local language?
Matched to actual population need, not a single default assumption.
2.5 Waiting and Queue Time Is Actively Managed
CORE
Patients waiting for registration, triage, or an ambulatory appointment are managed through a defined queue system with visible, honest wait-time information — rather than leaving patients unsure how long they will wait or whether they have been forgotten.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
- Is there a defined queue management system for registration, triage, and ambulatory waiting, not an informal first-come approach with no structure?
A specific, functioning system, not assumed to be self-evident from a waiting room and a door. - Is honest wait-time information visible or communicated to waiting patients?
Reasonably accurate information, not a vague reassurance or no information at all. - Is there a mechanism to notice if a waiting patient's condition changes or worsens while they wait?
Active monitoring of the waiting area, not only the queue order itself. ————————————————————