Why is ACHS accreditation important to us and our customers?

Last year, Sonder proudly became the first technology company to become accredited by The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) to their EQuIP6 Standards. This post explains what this means and why it is important both to us and our customers.

Australia’s most accomplished healthcare accreditation service, ACHS is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving quality in health care. With 47+ years of experience, they represent governments, consumers, and peak health bodies throughout Australia, and aim to inspire excellence in health care.

On the surface, we are a business using technology to provide holistic wellbeing support for employees and students. But under the surface, our greater mission is to democratise access to health care; we see too many barriers to access help, and too much complexity in the system – which is preventing people getting help how, when, and where they need it.

With that in mind, we wanted to partner with a highly reputable body in the healthcare industry, so we embarked on a journey with ACHS to become the first technology company to become accredited to ACHS’s EQuIP6 Standards (a four-year, continuous, quality assessment and improvement program) and benefit from their healthcare expertise and mentoring.

ACHS accreditation “is public recognition by a health care accreditation body of the achievement of accreditation standards by a health care organisation, demonstrated through an independent external peer assessment of that organisation’s level of performance in relation to the standards”.

“The five key elements of ACHS accreditation are:

1. Governance or stewardship function;
2. A standards-setting process;
3. A process of external evaluation of compliance against these standards;
4. A remediation or improvement process following the review; and
5. Promotion of continuous quality improvement.”

Our ACHS accreditation has been very positively received by our customers – some of Australia’s largest employers, universities, and government agencies – primarily because ACHS accreditation delivers peace of mind. Organisations can trust that the safety, medical, and mental health needs of their people are in expert hands – because they (rightly) require adequate assurance of the highest safety and quality standards. Our accreditation puts us alongside some of the most advanced healthcare institutions in Australia – with 82 per cent of the Australian public hospital sector and 63 per cent of Australian private hospitals now accredited by ACHS.

A critical aspect of ACHS accreditation is around continuous improvement and evolution. This helps minimise risk and improve outcomes in the healthcare sector by setting standards that organisations can aspire to. Becoming accredited is a great way for customers to know that Sonder is committed to continuous improvement, and that we have high standards for data handling as part of our accredited provider status.

ACHS also offers an accountability lever; it gives Sonder’s team members and customers comfort that the wellbeing of our members is always the number one priority. This is especially imperative at a time when employers, government, and universities are adjusting to new working environments and obligations around how they care for their people.

We take the tenets of quality and accessibility of the care we provide very seriously, so ACHS accreditation is a vital way to demonstrate this.

ACHS accreditation has provided validation of Sonder’s wellbeing model – which is a holistic, single point of entry, care model, based on two core beliefs:

1. Barriers to care need to be lowered, so people can get help faster; and
2. Effective care needs to be personalised, holistic and preventative, not cookie-cutter, band-aid and/or reactive.

“A growth mindset is central to our ethos here at Sonder, and our partnership with ACHS has helped us identify meaningful opportunities for evolving our care model. It continues to be an important part of our journey in lowering barriers to accessing the right health care at the right time,” said Dr Jamie Phillips, our Medical Director and Head of Member Support.

Sonder is a workforce health and safety platform that provides the right care at the right time for personal safety, medical, and mental health needs. The Sonder app offers 24/7 immediate connection to expert support via chat or call, personal safety tools like smart check-ins and journey tracking, and access to wellbeing resources such as personal assessments and self-care content.

For more information about how Sonder can help you reduce people related risks and costs, ensure compliance, and build a resilient, productive workforce, we invite you to contact us here.

Sonder is a technology company that helps organisations improve the wellbeing of their people so they perform at their best. Our mobile app provides immediate, 24/7 support from a team of safety, medical, and mental health professionals – plus onsite help for time-sensitive scenarios. Accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS), our platform gives leaders the insights they need to act on tomorrow’s wellbeing challenges today.