Quality Council of India (QCI) has formally launched the standards for the Indian health and wellness industry.

The regulations are applicable for accredited health care & wellness companies offering services in India. The standards will establish credibility globally for Indian healthcare sector. The accreditation would now provide an assurance of quality services from a reliable, safe and quality conscious provider.

The standards for health and wellness accreditation will require consideration of a variety of criteria for wellness service providers. These include technology, trained manpower, infrastructure, customer safety, processes and controls besides statutory and regulatory compliances. The standards would lay down stringent regulations for service providers to obtain mandatory full accreditation of the total services offered.

According to Somnath Das, COO, Manipal Cure and Care, it is not always feasible and economically viable for small Indian wellness operators to obtain accreditation from international agencies. "Therefore we felt a strong need to suggest that the QCI frame an Indian standard on par with the international standards, which could be implemented by all in the healthcare and wellness industry. These standards would thus go a long way in enhancing the growth & credibility of the Wellness Industry in India and also build consumer trust in a wellness brand," he added.

As part of the formal launch at the Quality Wellness workshop, held during the India Retail Forum (IRF) event, at Mumbai, Girdhar J Gyani secretary general, QCI and CEO, NABH handed over the Health and Wellness standards structured by the QCI to Dr R K Srivastava, director general Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.

According to Gyani, Indian health and wellness standards cover all aspects of the healthcare & wellness industry so comprehensively and these standards will serve as a reference point for other international accreditation agencies to develop standards in the wellness space.

On the occasion, prominent members of the healthcare & wellness industry present were Anand Rangachary, MD Frost & Sullivan, Rakesh Pandey, CEO, Kaya Clinic, Peter Baker, CEO, H&B Stores (Dabur), Ratan Jalan, CEO, Apollo Health and Lifestyle, Ashutosh Garg, CMD, Guardian Life Care, Dr Sanjeev K Chaudhry, CEO, Religare Wellness, Ashish Kripal Pandit, CEO, VLCC, Founder, Viraj Gandhi, Gautam Jatia, CEO, Emami Frank Ross, Gautam Thadani, director, 98.4.