Accreditation by external audit to validate that healthcare organisations' operations and practices satisfy agreed high-quality service criteria are being conducted in more than 70 countries (1,2). In 2003, the Danish government and The Danish Regions (responsible for all public hospitals) decided to implement a nationwide model of quality in healthcare which involves formal accreditation of all Danish public hospitals. In 2007, a national Institute for Quality and Accreditation in Healthcare (IKAS) was formed to develop The Danish Healthcare Quality Programme (DDKM); and since 2010, all public hospitals have been accredited based on announced on-site surveys which are conducted every third year (including a periodic midterm survey). Other types of healthcare institutions are now also included in the program and accredited on a regular basis (e.g. private hospitals covered by the extended free hospital choice, pharmacies, and nursing homes), and a plan for accreditation in general practices is currently (2014) being negotiated (3-5).