What is HSO?

HSO stands for Health Standards Organization. Established in February 2017, our mission is to harness the potential of individuals passionate about achieving quality health services worldwide. We are a registered not-for-profit organization based in Ottawa, Canada.

What Do We Do?

We focus on creating standards, assessment programs, and tools that help healthcare providers excel at their work of saving and improving lives. HSO is recognized by the Standards Council of Canada and is the only organization dedicated solely to health and social services standards.

How Did HSO Begin?

HSO builds on nearly 65 years of experience from Accreditation Canada, the leading health care accreditation body in Canada. In 2016, we consulted over 700 stakeholders to gather insights on effectively using our knowledge. Key findings included:

• Standards development should be separate from assessments to ensure high quality in both areas.
• The accreditation process needs to be more transparent and focused on outcomes.
• Standards and assessments should be practical, clinically relevant, and tailored to local needs.
• Involving patients, practitioners, and policymakers is essential for improving global health.

Why Create HSO?

We established HSO to develop rigorous, evidence-based standards that drive quality improvement in healthcare, ultimately aiming to save and enhance lives using the best research and expertise available.

Relevance to All Standards Project

HSO is involved in the 50-30 Challenge, providing a valuable contact for insights into diversity and inclusion practices within standards development organizations in Canada.