About SheniEkimi Certification
SheniEkimi Certification is a voluntary quality-and-safety scheme for non-hospital health and wellness facilities in Georgia — clinics, dental and rehabilitation practices, salons, spas, gyms and pools. Its purpose is precise: to give the public an independent, verifiable signal that a facility is safe, honestly run and well managed, and to give each facility a structured, evidence-based pathway to improve. It is deliberately positioned as the accessible first step for the smaller facilities that international hospital accreditation does not reach, and as a foundation from which a facility may later pursue full international accreditation.
Who we are
SheniEkimi (sheniekimi.ge) is the largest Georgian-language health-information portal, used by hundreds of thousands of people seeking clear, reliable health information. SheniEkimi Certification extends that work from information to assurance: the same evidence-based discipline applied to the facilities people physically attend. The scheme is issued under the Certificate.ge Programme by the Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG) and Accréditation Sans Frontières (ASF), Paris, France, in collaboration with SheniEkimi.
Our background and track record
SheniEkimi Certification does not begin from nothing. It rests on more than a decade of institutional work to introduce and embed healthcare accreditation in Georgia:
PHIG established
The Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG) is founded to advance modern healthcare quality and safety in Georgia, working across academia, professional practice and public policy.
The Accreditation Georgia Initiative
Launched by PHIG and Accréditation Sans Frontières (ASF), with David Tvildiani Medical University (DTMU) — the first national effort to unite academia, professional organisations and global accreditation bodies around establishing healthcare accreditation in Georgia.
Georgia’s first facility accreditations
More than 50 facilities voluntarily entered pilot accreditation with ASF against an adapted Georgian standard; ASF accredited the first four — the first healthcare-facility accreditations the country had recorded — demonstrating feasibility and sustainability to providers and policymakers.
Mandatory hospital accreditation
After sustained engagement with the Ministry of Health, a ministerial decree introduced a requirement for independent international accreditation of all Georgian hospitals.
Partnership with Accreditation Canada
PHIG established an official partnership with Accreditation Canada (AC), among the world’s largest and most established healthcare accreditation organisations, becoming its partner in Georgia.
Nine hospitals accredited
Nine Georgian hospitals achieved Accreditation Canada accreditation — a measurable record of building accreditation in a country that previously had none.
Continuing professional development
Workforce capability is integral to quality. Through SheniAcademy — a Georgian-language continuing-education platform created by PHIG, SheniEkimi and ASF — more than 5,000 health professionals have completed certified training. This is now being consolidated into a bilingual (Georgian and English) platform at academy.gmj.ge, a joint continuing professional development hub of up to 100 courses, with blended (online and in-person) modules planned for 2026. PHIG has issued competency-based CME certificates to more than 1,000 professionals in a pilot phase and, with Accreditation Canada in Georgia, plans approximately 1,000 competency-based CME credits annually.
Education built into the standard
Certification and education operate as a single system. Each standard is paired with practical courses on GMJ Academy, so a facility can act immediately on what an assessment reveals. Course-completion certificates are submitted as certification evidence — for example, a hand-hygiene certificate for each member of clinical staff. A small number of courses are required for certification; most are recommended. See how training works →
Why this matters. The methodology, technical capacity and governance behind SheniEkimi Certification are established and verifiable: a public-health institute with more than a decade of standards work, an international accreditation partner (ASF), a medical university (DTMU), a peer-reviewed journal (GMJ), and an active partnership with Accreditation Canada. For smaller facilities, the scheme extends the same quality-and-safety discipline PHIG has helped bring to Georgian hospitals — in a proportionate, voluntary form.
Partners
The scheme is delivered by an alliance of established organisations:
How the standard was developed
The standard was developed by Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG), which leads the scheme and issues certification; Accréditation Sans Frontières (ASF), contributing international accreditation methodology and cross-border experience; and the Georgian Medical Journal (GMJ), providing the scientific and editorial evidence base — with technical support from the Accreditation Canada (AC) Georgia office.
The frameworks behind it
Development drew on principles and concepts from internationally recognised sources — the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), and Accreditation Canada / HSO — alongside the relevant Laws of Georgia. Each sub-standard cites the published guidance on which it is based; the full reference list appears in the Methodology.
References to these organisations and their publications describe external guidance that informed this standard. They do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, certification, affiliation with, or certification by any of these organisations. SheniEkimi Certification is not an ISO certification or an ISQua / Accreditation Canada accreditation, and it does not replace any legally required licence.
The seven core standards
Assessment follows the path a patient or client takes through a facility, organised into seven core standards, each with measurable sub-standards:
Standard 1 — Access & Arrival
The facility is easy to find, reach and enter safely — including for people with disabilities.
Standard 2 — Reception & Information
People are received respectfully and given clear, honest information about services, prices and their rights.
Standard 3 — Environment & Shared Spaces
Shared areas are clean, safe, well-ventilated and properly maintained.
Standard 4 — Care & Treatment
Care is delivered safely and competently — with proper hygiene, sterilisation, consent and qualified staff.
Standard 5 — Safety & Emergency Preparedness
The facility identifies and controls risks, and is ready to respond to emergencies.
Standard 6 — Aftercare & Follow-up
People receive clear aftercare and referral when needed, and can give feedback or raise a complaint.
Standard 7 — Governance & Management
The facility is well run — with proper records, policies, data protection and continuous improvement.
Principles
The scheme is voluntary and improvement-oriented — not a regulator and not a sanction. A certificate is valid for twelve months and covers one physical address. The facility self-declares and retains full responsibility for its services; SheniEkimi confirms the assessment and, for the on-site assessment, an on-site visit — it does not approve any individual drug or product.
Frequently asked questions
Everything about SheniEkimi Certification — what it is, who can apply, how the process works, and what you get.