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| Quality Council of India (QCI) and National Board for Quality Promotion (NBQP) instituted the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) program in 2005 with a vision to create and promote excellence in quality of healthcare services in India. As of October 2011, 100 Healthcare Organizations (HCOs) in India are NABH accredited. |
| This is only the beginning of the road for these 100 HCOs to enhance quality of patient care. |
| Dr Narottam Puri – Chairman NABH, in QCI’s quality magazine, “Quality India”, has mentioned that achieving accreditation only means that the basic foundations of quality have been instituted. The aim is to have a culture of Continuous Improvement (CI) and that CI is the only way ahead for NABH accredited HCOs. The National Conclave of NABH Accredited HCOs held at Bangalore in May 2011, also debated extensively on the issue of CI. |
| What has clearly emerged from the conclave and the statements made by various HCO leaders shows that the greatest challenge faced by NABH accredited HCOs is the sustenance of the systems that led to achievement of the accreditation. The creation of a culture of CI to persistently work towards delivering excellence in patient experience was identified as a key challenge. |
| This key challenge has encouraged the NABH technical committee to work towards including it as an integral component of the accreditation program in its forthcoming third edition. It thus emphasizes CI far beyond just one chapter as in the previous editions of the NABH standards. |
| Dr R Karanjekar – Chairman NABH Accreditation Committee, has on several occasions emphasized on the need for HCOs to put in conscious efforts towards changing the mindset of HCOs from “Conformance to Performance”. I wish to add that Qimpro Healthcare Services has had the opportunity to experience this challenge of Conformance to Performance faced by HCOs while executing the highly successful National Demonstration Project on `Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare’ across nine of the NABH accredited HCOs, in 2010. |
| Our Managing Director, Suresh Lulla, who is also Regional Advisor to QCI believes that HCOs need to make a habit of CI. Improvement projects undertaken be HCOs should align with strategic goals that address the triple bottom line – profit, people, planet. He also advocates improvement in quality of air and water at HCOs, to leap frog performance in patient care. |
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| For more details please write to: healthcare@qimpro.com |
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