The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) Standards is today the highest benchmark standard for hospital quality in India. Though developed by the Quality Council of India on the lines of International Accreditation Standards like the JCI, ACHS and the Canadian Hospital Accreditation Standards, the NABH is however seen as a more practical set of Standards, topical and very relevant to India's unique healthcare system requirements.
Patients are the biggest beneficiaries from the NABH Accreditation, as it results in a high quality of care and patient safety. The patients get services by credential medical staff. Rights of patients are respected and protected. Patient satisfaction is regularly evaluated. Accreditation also benefits the staff of the hospital as it provides for continuous learning, good working environment, leadership and above all ownership of clinical processes.
NABH Accreditation to a hospital stimulates continuous improvement. It enables the Hospital in demonstrating commitment to quality care and raises the community confidence in the services provided by the Hospital. It also provides opportunity to benchmark with the best.
National Accreditation Board for Testing & Calibration Laboratories (NABL), similar to the NABH, is also an autonomous body, under the Quality Council of India. The primary objective being to maintain an accreditation system for laboratories suitable for India, developed in accordance with relevant national and international standards and guides. The NABL Accreditation is a formal recognition of the technical competence of a laboratory based on third party assessment and following international guidelines. Trained Assessors taken from institutions all over India, with established credentials in testing and calibration activities carry out the assessment.
Our consulting approach to the NABH Accreditation is unique in that we adopt a very close handholding approach, ensuring that our Consultants become an integral part of the exercise at the Hospital, an agent of the change being brought about. The NABH being an Accreditation Standard requires fundamental changes in the staff attitudes and behaviour if genuine improvement of quality in the delivery of care is to be brought about.
We commence with a comprehensive System Study and Gap Analysis done across the Hospital, covering even the Clinical Areas, especially those having a direct impact on patient care and safety. Our Report detailing the gaps is made with reference to the NABH or the NABL Standards and Clauses. This is followed by several rounds of awareness programs on the NABH Standards, covering different groups of staff and explaining to them those parts of the Standards relevant to their function. For example Nurses would be explained to on the NABH Standards related to Infection Control, Care of Patient, Management of Medication etc, Front Office Staff on Patient Access and Assessment, Information Management Systems, etc.
Once we are clear that a basic level of understanding has been achieved of the NABH requirements in all major departments, we start the system development process, with support of key hospital staff. This approach ensures an in-depth implementation. Based on the progress of implementation, monitored periodically through a series of mock audits and internal audits, the Hospital is prepared for the Assessment.