Mangaluru: Indiana Hospital & Heart Institute Ltd is the first corporate referral hospital and third hospital in the city to be accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH). Accreditation in healthcare goes beyond just infrastructure for a hospital. It is about process and outcome.

So far, only 403 hospitals in India have been accredited by NABH. Indiana Hospital is the 385th in the list. Refer: http://nabh.co/frmviewaccreditedhosp.aspx

NABH is a constituent board of quality council of India, set up to establish and operate accreditation programme for healthcare organizations. NABH is an institutional member as well as board member of the International Society for Quality in healthcare (ISQua) and the hospitals accredited by NABH will have international recognition.

Indiana Hospital took 18 months to implement its quality protocols. The hard work was rewarded when NABH accredited the hospital in July 2016. Indiana Hospital is using this as a tool to make a difference in the healthcare scenario in the city by ensuring the best possible outcomes for its patients.

How NABH accreditation benefits patients:

Patient care and safety is the core of NABH accreditation and this is achieved by focusing on:

1. Access, assessment and continuity of care (AAC)
2. Care of patients (COP)
3. Management of medication (MOM)
4. Patient rights and education (PRE)
5. Hospital infection control (HIC)

The scope of services provided by the hospital is clearly defined and displayed.

Each process in patient care is defined and documented and undergoes regular assessment.

Credentialing and privileging of consultants and nurses based on their qualification and experience.

Policies and procedures of procurement, safe storage, prescription, dispensation and administration of medication are documented.

Patients are informed of their rights and responsibilities and are also informed about the possible outcome of the treatment, costs etc thereby ensuring complete transparency.

Provide proper facilities and adequate resources to support infection control programmes thereby reducing / eliminating infection risk to patients, visitors and care providers.

Enhancing patient safety by effectively managing and mitigating clinical and safety related risks.

Complete and accurate medical records for every patient reflects continuity of care.

How NABH accreditation benefits the staff:

Accreditation ensures that the healthcare organization is managed in an ethical manner and displays professionalism in the management of affairs of the unit.

The organization has a system in place to provide a safe and secure environment including plans to deal with fire and other emergencies.

Organization will have a documented procedure for recruiting, inducting and continuous professional training and development for staff.

There is a process of credentialing and privileging to medical professionals and nursing professionals permitted to provide patient care without supervision.

NABH accreditation can attract qualified personnel, who prefer to serve in accredited organizations. Accredited organization also provides additional opportunities for staff to develop their skills and knowledge.

NABH accreditation ensures the following:

Regular audits will ensure that all processes and protocols are followed in letter and spirit.

The process of ‘incident reporting’ ensures that each incident is analyzed, the root cause identified and corrective / preventive action taken.

Thus, accreditations provide a win-win situation to both the patients and the hospital.