About us

• 2014accreditation advocacy begins in Georgia
• 2023official partner of Accreditation Canada
• 10experts trained by Accreditation Canada
• 12core staff
• 9organizations with Platinum accreditation

Who we are

The Accreditation Canada Tbilisi Office is the official local partner in Georgia of Canada’s international accreditation body. The office is operated by the Public Health Institute of Georgia. We help hospitals, outpatient clinics and laboratories prepare for accreditation under the Qmentum International program, on site and in Georgian.

Accreditation decisions are made only by Accreditation Canada, based on the visit of its certified surveyors. Our role is to prepare, train and support organizations throughout the cycle. The office is listed on Accreditation Canada’s international partners page.

Head of the office

Professor Giorgi Pkhakadze (MD, MPH, PhD) is Accreditation Canada’s representative in Georgia, Head of the School of Public Health at David Tvildiani Medical University and Chair of the Public Health Institute of Georgia.

• From 2006 he worked at World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, in the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases; in recent years he has been a consultant to WHO’s Special Initiative for Health and Migration.
• From 2020 to 2022 he was principal public health adviser to the Prime Minister and Government of Georgia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• He served as Deputy CEO for quality and development at Evex Medical Corporation; it was in this period, in 2014, that he began advocating for healthcare accreditation in Georgia.
• He has worked on Global Fund, United Nations and UN agency programmes in more than 25 countries.
• He is Editor-in-Chief of the Georgian Medical Journal and Secretary-Treasurer of the UEMS Section of Public Health.

Our team

The office team was formed in 2023 following an open call. Today it has 10 experts and 12 core staff, including technical staff and volunteers. The experts completed Accreditation Canada training and work across the core areas of accreditation: governance and quality, patient safety, infection prevention and control, medication management, patient engagement and documentation. Every partner organization has a dedicated coordinator who brings in the experts as needed.

Local advisers run regular training sessions and monthly visits at the partner organizations.

• Giorgi PkhakadzeAccreditation Canada Representative in GeorgiaMD, MPH, PhD, ProfessorDavid Tvildiani Medical University · Public Health Institute of Georgia, TbilisiORCID 0000-0001-7609-4515
• Sulkhan InaishviliAccreditation Canada adviser; international surveyor since 2025MD, PhD, Associate ProfessorAvitsena University, BatumiORCID 0009-0004-6639-6068
• Irine PkhakadzeAccreditation Canada adviser; international surveyorMD, PhD, ProfessorAkaki Tsereteli State University, KutaisiORCID 0009-0003-8699-2919
• Ani BolkvadzeMD, MPH, PhD CandidateAccreditation Canada · Public Health Institute of Georgia, TbilisiORCID 0009-0008-6764-339X
• Tamar TalakvadzeAccreditation Canada adviser; Deputy Representative in GeorgiaMD, PhD, ProfessorDavid Tvildiani Medical University, TbilisiORCID 0009-0002-3007-6738
• Tamar KraveishviliMDPublic Health Institute of Georgia, TbilisiORCID 0009-0009-2473-2568
• Irakli ApshinashviliAccreditation Canada adviser; international surveyor since 2025Public Health Institute of Georgia, TbilisiORCID 0009-0002-8116-704X
• Sofio KutateladzeAccreditation Canada adviser: sterilization and infection controlMDPublic Health Institute of Georgia, TbilisiORCID 0009-0005-2121-1012
• Tamar VarshalomidzePublic Health Institute of Georgia, Tbilisi
• Ioseb DemetrashviliPublic Health Institute of Georgia, Tbilisi

Declaration of interests: all team members have nothing to declare.

The Public Health Institute of Georgia

The office is operated by the Public Health Institute of Georgia (3 Betlemi Rise, Tbilisi). The Institute also runs the Patient Voice programme (patient councils and an independent ombudsman), the GMJ Academy online training platform and the sheniekimi.ge and pacienti.ge information platforms.

What we have achieved

• 23 Georgian healthcare organizations joined the Accreditation Canada programme; 9 of them achieved Platinum accreditation in February 2025 (see the list).
• In 2025 we ran 13 free training sessions open to every clinic, some attended by up to 200 professionals.
• Patient councils were set up at partner organizations.
• More than 870 articles on accreditation and the partner organizations have been published (publications).
• In 2024 the team presented Georgia’s experience at the ISQua international conference.