Currently 19 hospitals and three speciality centres have been accredited by JCI in India
M Neelam Kachhap
Joint Commission International (JCI), US a not-for-profit international accreditation entity is bullish on the prospects of business coming from India based on the growth in the healthcare industry in India across the value chain, along with the interest evinced by healthcare leaders in performance and quality improvement. Currently 19 hospitals and three speciality centres have been accredited by JCI in India. “India is an important market for us and we are looking at enhancing our reach here,” Paula Wilson, President and CEO, JCI told Express Healthcare on the sidelines of a conference at Bengaluru. Helping Indian hospitals; both in the public and private sector; enhance their patient safety and quality improvement measures to international levels is a key goal for JCI, Wilson said.
Dr Prabhu Vinayagam, MD, JCI Asia-Pacific said, “There are more than 20,000 hospitals in India and only about 25 hospitals are internationally accredited. this is very low as compared to other countries in APAC region.” “It is no longer enough for an Indian hospital to be just better than its immediate neighbour. It is high time that majority of Indian hospitals seriously pursue international accreditation as part of their quality improvement initiatives. Along with helping hospitals perform better patient awareness is a critical area that we want to work on,” said Vinayagam.
“Along with helping hospitals perform better. patient awareness is a critical area that we want to work on,” added Vinayagam.
JCI, a division of Joint Commission Resources, Inc., a wholly-owned, not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, works to improve patient safety and quality of healthcare in the international community by offering education, publications, advisory service, international accreditation and certification. JCI partners with hospitals, clinics, academic medical centers, health systems and agencies, government ministries, academia and international advocates to promote rigorous standards of care and to provide solutions for achieving peak performance.