National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations (NABH) has revamped Entry-Level Certification Process to make it simpler, digital, fasterand user-friendly. The revised process is driven through a new portal called HOPE - Healthcare Organizations’ Platform for Entry-Level-Certification with a focus to promote quality at nascent stages by enrolling a wide range of hospitals across the country including Healthcare Organizations (HCOs) and Small Healthcare Organizations (SHCOs). The aim is to create a momentum for HCOs and SHCOs that want to avail benefits associated with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Ayushman Bharat by getting themselves NABH certified along with the primary aim of creating a quality healthcare ecosystem in India. The idea of cashless payment to patients under insurance coverage has been promoted by IRDAI to reduce financial burden on households. The IRDAI has mandated hospitals to ensure a quality healthcare ecosystem through NABH Entry-Level Certification Process.

HOPE is not just confined to certification of HCOs/SHCOs but also enables them to comply with quality protocols, improve patient safety and the overall healthcare facility of the organization. It is an online platform for smooth and secure registration. It provides a self-explanatory questionnaire to be filled by the HCO/SHCOs. A mobile application has also been developed to support HCO/SHCOs for directly uploading geotagged and timestamped evidences required for compliance to the standards. It has also changed the assessment process which is now carried out on a technology based application where the data is captured and validated on a real-time basis.

To ensure an active participation of HCO/SHCOs in the HOPE process, various activities have been initiated:

• Nationwide awareness workshops to sensitize the hospitals on the entire process of assessment.
• Call center support to hospitals through an active helpline for resolving issues while filling the application form.
• Platform to connect hospitals with certified consultants for assistance in the certification processfollowing a cost effective manner.
• Knowledge bank providing a comprehensive guidebook, presentation etc. with detailedinformation of the step-by-step certification procedure.
• Created a larger and stronger network of qualified assessors.

 In order to support maximum HCO/SHCOs in the country, QCI and NABH have partnered with several organizations like, Indian Medical Association (IMA), Patient Safety and Access Initiative of India Foundation (PSAIIF), Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations (CAHO) and other stakeholders for spreading awareness about the process.

Established in 1997 Quality Council of India (QCI) is an autonomous organization under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It is the Quality Apex and National Accreditation Body for accreditation and quality promotion in the country. The Council was established to provide a credible, reliable mechanism for third party assessment of products, services and processes which is accepted and recognized globally.

NABH, a constituent body of QCI, has been working to ensure reliability, efficiency and global accreditation in Indian healthcare sector using contemporary methodologies and tools, standards of patient safety and infection control. NABH accreditation provides assurance of quality and care in hospitals at par with international benchmarks. NABH has designed an exhaustive healthcare standard for hospitals and healthcare providers that have been accredited by ISQUA the apex international accreditation body.

Hospitals can contact the call center at 1800-102-3814 or write to [email protected] or refer to the website www.hope.qcin.org

NABH Entry-Level Certification modernised: digital HOPE platform enables streamlined accreditation and real-time compliance verification. NABH restructured the Entry-Level Certification via the HOPE portal to broaden HCO/SHCO enrolment, streamline digital registration, enable geotagged and timestamped evidence uploads, and implement technology-based real-time assessment validation, complemented by outreach, consultancy linkage, and support services to promote accreditation-aligned quality and patient safety.