National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations (NABH) has accredited 206 small healthcare institutions based on the new pre-accreditation entry level certification standards conceived and developed in consultation with various stake holders in the country towards enhancing the quality of patient care and safety.

Once pre-accreditation entry level certification is achieved, the small hospitals can then prepare and move to the next stage - progressive level and finally to full accreditation status.

Around 400 more such healthcare institutions are in the process of getting accredited very soon. As of today, there are around 425 NABH accredited hospitals in the country.

Says Bhupendra Kumar Rana, CEO Incharge, NABH, “The new standards are required to enhance the capacity of the small healthcare institutions in the country in terms of manpower and infrastructure. As a matter of reference, a 100 bed hospital should have 45 nurses as per the Indian Public Health Standards requirement.”

He further added that the certification is voluntary in nature with annual fees of Rs. 10, 000 for a 50 bed or below hospital and Rs. 25, 000 for a 50 and above bed hospital.

NABH has developed pre-accreditation entry-level standards for small healthcare institutions which could go a long way to strengthen the quality of healthcare delivery in the country, particularly among the network hospitals participating in government led health insurance schemes.

Two sets of pre-accreditation entry-level standards, one based on NABH SHCO standards for hospitals under 50 beds, and the other using NABH standards for hospitals with 50 beds or more, were suggested by the Collaborative which were finalized and published by the NABH in 2014.

This has created a quality benchmark which is not only within the reach of the vast majority of hospitals, but also sets the stage for steady progress to higher levels of NABH standards. The NABH pre-accreditation entry-level standards for SHCOs consist of 41 standards and 149 objective elements.

These pre-accreditation entry-level standards are in accordance with the standards of the NABH. NABH identified a subset suited for the creation of pre-accreditation entry-level certification by NABH, which could be feasibly undertaken by resource restrained hospitals, could be independently assessed, and which could be used as standardized empanelment criteria for health insurance programs, meeting their common needs for quality and patient safety.

This methodology provides a step by step and staged approach, which is practical for the small healthcare institutions. The applicant hospital must have conducted self-assessment against NABH pre accreditation entry level standards after implementing it for at least 3 months before submission of application and must ensure that it complies with the standards.

NABH is a constituent board of Quality Council of India (QCI), set up to establish and operate accreditation programme for healthcare organisations. The board is structured to cater to needs of the consumers and to set benchmarks for progress of health industry. While being supported by all stakeholders including industry, consumers, government, NABH has full functional autonomy in its operation.