Hospital accreditation has finally become a reality in India with the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH), an autonomous body promoted by Quality Council of India (QCI), qualifying two hospitals under its accreditation programme launched recently in the country. B M Birla Heart Research Centre, Kolkata and MIMS Hospital (MIMS Ltd), Calicut are the first two hospitals to receive NABH accreditation. NABH accreditation is to help the qualified hospitals market their services worldwide as NABH is an institutional member of International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua).

According to QCI sources, the concept of hospital accreditation is picking up very fast with 23 hospitals already applying for the recognition. While two of the applications got cleared, pre-assessment of seven applicants are in the process, it is learnt. NABH has enrolled 94 specially trained assessors to undertake the inspection and provide necessary guidance across the country.

The hospitals that have applied for accreditation include Ruby General Hospital, Kolkata, Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, Kasturba Hospital, Manipal, Rockland Hospital, New Delhi, Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre, New Delhi, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore, Samad IVF Hospital, Trivandrum, Dharamshila Cancer Foundation And Research Centre, Delhi, The Calcutta Medical Research Institute, Kolkata, Gupte Hospital of Accurate Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd., Pune, Medwin Hospitals, Hyderabad, Max Devki Devi Heart and Vascular Institute, New Delhi, Max Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, AMRI Hospital, Kolkata, Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Kolkata, Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thiruvananthapuram, Moolchand Hospital, New Delhi and Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.

The NABH accreditation became possible after the technical committee of NABH managed to finalize a set standard with long drawn parameters as reference point for clearing the applications. The agency has a high level appeals committee, an accreditation committee, a technical committee and a permanent secretariat. It also has a panel of assessors / experts. The technical committee is in charge of designing and drafting the accreditation standards for different services offered by NABH.

The focus of NABH accreditation is on patient safety and quality of healthcare. The NABH standards are focusing on areas like patient rights and education, care of patients, management of medication, hospital infection control, continuous quality improvement, responsibility of management, facility management and safety, human resource management and information management system.

The board consists of thirteen members drawn from key stakeholders in healthcare industry. Indian Medical Association (IMA), Consumer Coordination Council, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), Indian Nursing Council, Department of Biotechnology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and technology, Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services, industry representatives, association representatives, representative from medical education sector etc are all part of the NABH.