NABH: Creating a Culture of Safety in India
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Abstract
This article emphasizes the idea of creating a culture of safety in Indian healthcare. NABH ensures quality control, while QCI spreads the quality movement. Healthcare accreditation’s evolution from JCI to NABH reflects progress. Digital health aims to revolutionize healthcare delivery and create equality. Government initiatives prioritize training and awareness for patient safety and quality. Progress in promoting patient safety shows promise for the future.
Introduction
The Quality Council of India (QCI), the umbrella body with a vision of ‘ To create an ecosystem for quality’ was established as a National body for Accreditation on recommendations of Expert Mission of EU after consultations in Inter-ministerial Task Force, Committee of Secretaries and Group of Ministers through a Cabinet decision in 1996. To achieve its vision, the QCI has set up four accreditation boards and one quality promotion board, emphasizing the importance of accreditation in maintaining high-quality products and services.
The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers which is commonly abbreviated as NABH is a constituent board of the Quality Council of India which has been setup in 2005 to establish and operate accreditation programmes for hospitals and health care organizations with the objective of enhancing health system & promoting continuous quality improvement and patient safety. NABH is in its 19 th year of creating an ecosystem of quality in healthcare and has built itself as a national accreditation body over the years.
NABH is structured to cater to the needs of the consumers and sets standards and benchmark for the progress of the Indian Health Industry. NABH stands for its values: credibility, responsiveness, transparency and innovation in healthcare industry of the country and hence NABH accreditation is used as an empaneling criteria by various government organizations.
The Importance of Quality Standards in Healthcare
Quality standards are crucial in healthcare, ensuring highquality patient care. In India, the active and proactive Quality Council of India (QCI) focuses on this area beyond accreditation and certification. The QCI is involved in numerous projects, validating key performance indicators in districts and certifying various projects, even gaining international recognition. Prior to 2005, healthcare lacked focus on quality, but a commission received by Apollo Hospital in New Delhi changed this mindset, leading to increased awareness and adherence to standard protocols. And here, the incredible journey of NABH began in the year 2005 with a vision of developing a system in India to ensure quality and safety in health care services which meet the global standards. The commitment of NABH to quality in healthcare and patient safety is evident through its projects and certifications, and the journey of quality in healthcare continues to evolve towards better patient care. NABH has given the country national standards or ‘Desh ka Standard’ and are in line with the vision of our Honorable Prime Minister of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’. These standards help to build a quality culture at all level and across all the function of hospital.
The Rise of Healthcare Accreditation in India: From Joint Commission International to National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers
The access of patients to quality Health Care Organizations (HCOs) can be ensured through a systematic process called as Accreditation. Accreditation is the most important approach for improving the quality of HCOs. Accreditation guides and drives the HCOs to follow standardized procedures in order to maintain patient safety and quality by way of establishing systems, protocols and a culture that is patient-centric. Accreditation-being a hall mark of quality provides an easy basis to insurance companies, corporate empanelment and the other Third Parties to empanel the hospitals on the basis of certified information on facilities, infrastructure and the level of care with confidence. NABH started accrediting healthcare organizations in 2006 in India and expanded its wings to International Accreditation in the year 2010. NABH provides accreditation to hospitals in a nondiscriminatory manner regardless of their ownership, legal status, size and degree of independence. NABH, as an organization and NABH standards for hospitals are internationally recognized and benchmarked. The accreditation of NABH standard for hospitals authenticates that NABH standards are in consonance with the global benchmarks set by ISQua and thus hospitals accredited by NABH will have international recognition. Currently, NABH is offering around 25 accreditation, certification and empanelment programs for various types and maturity level of healthcare providers.
Today NABH is the largest healthcare provider accreditation body in our country with more than 18,500 healthcare organizations partnering with NABH under various accreditation, certification and empanelment programs.
Promoting Patient Safety and Quality in Healthcare: The Journey of the Model of Excellence Sponsor
NABH is a prominent healthcare accreditation organization dedicated to defining high standards of patient safety and quality in the healthcare industry. NABH had developed and released the 5th Edition of Hospital Accreditation Standards to the hospitals which has more than 51 beds. This edition is unique in its approach and has been presented based in entirety on the suggestions made by various stakeholders. The NABH hallmark methodology of ten Standards Chapters and a total of 651 Objective Elements is followed. This objective methodology aids the healthcare organisation in a stepwise progression to mature quality system covering the full accreditation cycle. The scoring methodology is in a graded scheme to help recognise every progressive effort by the organisation in the implementation of the standards. NABH is the only organization which conducts surveillance and surprise assessments after the healthcare organization is accredited in order to maintain and ensure the continuity and sustainability of quality system. NABH conducts surveillance assessment after 2 years of accreditation and surprise assessment as and when required followed by the renewal after 4 years.
The contribution and efforts of NABH in various forms have improved healthcare performance, reduced medication errors and reporting of adverse events. The impact of NABH on promoting patient safety and quality in healthcare is commendable, and its initiatives continue to have a positive influence on the industry’s future.
Digital Health: A New Frontier in Healthcare
Digital Technology has played a crucial role in supporting the healthcare sector, offering innovative solutions in managing the immediate crisis and also accelerated the adoption of digital solutions in healthcare systems worldwide especially during unprecedented times of COVID-19 pandemic. One of the key priorities during the G-20 health track and working group meetings in India this year was ‘Digital Health.’ Adoption and implementation of digital health is a significant stride which can be instrumental in bridging the healthcare gap in India by addressing various challenges and improving accessibility, efficiency, and affordability of healthcare services.
Given the importance of Digital Health, NABH has drafted India’s first ever Digital Health Standards for Hospitals to enable the adoption of digital health processes and ensure safe & secure use of digital health solutions. The intent of NABH digital Health Standards is to improve the overall clinical care & quality ecosystem in the country. The 1st Edition of NABH Digital Health Standards for Hospitals was released on 17th September, 2023 during NABH Patient Safety Conference 2023.
NABH Digital Health Accreditation Program ensures that these standards are implemented by the organization for providing patient care services through the assessment of digital processes in the healthcare organization.
Conclusion
Overall, the dream of a self-reliant Quality health system is only possible when high quality, affordable and accessible health services are being provided to all equitably and NABH is committed to achieve this vision. There is a growing recognition of the importance of accreditation, as a useful tool for patient safety and more healthcare facilities are expected to seek accreditation in the coming years as patient expectations continue to rise and the healthcare system in India evolves. NABH has the mandate and remains committed to ensuring healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages (SDG3-Target 2030), creating a culture and an ecosystem of quality in healthcare taking Quality, Safety and Wellness to the last in the line.
