NABH Accreditation for Hospitals
NABH Accreditation for Hospitals
National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) is a part of the Board of Quality Council of India. NABH was set up to establish and operate an accreditation programme for healthcare and wellness centres in India. In this article, we look at the process of obtaining NABH Accreditation for hospitals in India.
NABH Accreditation
NABH accreditation is a way for hospitals in India to implement standards and procedures on par with global benchmarks. NABH is a member of the International Society for Quality In Health Care (ISQUA), an international accreditation body in the areas of healthcare. As a member of ISQUA, NABH has joined a handful of countries that match and authenticate healthcare services to global standards. Thus, a hospital having NABH Accreditation delivers services on par with global standard and serves as a boost to medical tourism in India.
In addition to NABH Accreditation for Hospitals, NABH also provides Accreditation for:
- Small Healthcare Organizations
- Small Healthcare Organisation is those healthcare organizations having bed strength upto 50 beds.
- Blood Banks
- Blood Storage Centres
- Medical Imaging Services
- Dental Health Care Service Providers
- Oral Substitution Therapy Centres
- Allopathic Clinics
- AYUSH Hospitals
- Accreditation Program for AYUSH (Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani, Siddha and Yoga & Naturopathy) Hospitals.
- Community Health Centres
- Primary Health Centres
- Wellness Centres
Benefits for Hospitals
Having NABH Accreditation has various benefits for the different stakeholders of a hospital. For patients, having NABH accreditation results in high-quality healthcare services delivery and patient safety. For the hospital, NABH accreditation helps the hospital demonstrate the commitment to quality healthcare thereby increasing revenue from foreign medical tourists and domestic patients, looking for quality healthcare service providers. For the medical staff, the Accreditation process serves as a way to have the continuous learning, good working environment and strong clinical processes. NABH accreditation serves to improve the overall professional development of Clinicians and Para Medical Staff.
NABH Standards for Hospitals
The NABH Standards for hospitals provide a framework for quality of care for patients and quality improvement for hospitals. The standards help to build a quality culture at all level and across all the function of the hospital. The complete NABH Standards consists of 102 standards and 636 objective elements. To obtain NABH Accreditation, a hospital must be willing and able to demonstrate that the hospital functions as per the NABH standards. The following are an outline of NABH Standards:
NABH Standards patient-centred Standards
- Access, Assessment and Continuity of Care (AAC)
- Care of Patient (COP)
- Management of Medication (MOM)
- Patient Right and Education (PRE)
- Hospital Infection Control (HIC)
Organisation Centered Standards
- Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)
- Responsibility of Management (ROM)
- Facility Management and Safety (FMS)
- Human Resource Management (HRM)
- Information Management System(IMS)
Process for NABH Accreditation
To begin the process for obtaining NABH Accreditation, the hospital management must begin by implementing the NABH standards and nominating a person to coordinate all activities related to seeking accreditation. The person-in-charge and hospital management must understand the NABH assessment procedures and ensure that the NABH standards are implemented in the organization. At least 3 months prior to submission of NABH Accreditation application, the hospital must conduct a self-assessment and ensure that it operates as per NABH standards.
If satisfied with the self-assessment, the hospital can make an application to NABH for Accreditation along with the necessary documents and fees. NABH will then conduct a pre-assessment and point out corrections and check the preparedness of the hospital for final assessment. Once the necessary corrective actions are taken, a final assessment will be conducted by NABH by way of a comprehensive review of hospital functions and services. Based on the review and assessment report of the final assessment team from NABH, a NABH Accreditation Committee will award NABH Accreditation. The validity period for accreditation is 3 years subject to terms and conditions.
To know more about NABH Accreditation, get in touch with a hospital consultant through Nearest. Expert.
