JCI and NABH accreditation: how to check a hospital in India yourself
By the OmLina team · Last reviewed
The short answer
JCI (Joint Commission International) and NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers) both assess hospitals against published standards for quality and patient safety. JCI works worldwide; NABH is India’s national body and operates under the Quality Council of India. You can check a hospital yourself: NABH has a public search of accredited organisations on nabh.co, and JCI lists the organisations it accredits on its own website. Check the exact hospital there, not a logo on a brochure.
What JCI accreditation is
Joint Commission International accredits hospitals and other health care organisations outside the United States. It is part of the same organisation as The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals in the US. JCI says more than 1,000 organisations in over 70 countries hold its accreditation.
Accreditation means the hospital was surveyed against JCI’s standards and met them. It is given for a set period, after which the hospital is surveyed again.
What NABH accreditation is
NABH is India’s own accreditation board for hospitals and health care providers. It operates under the Quality Council of India and describes itself as the country’s apex body for setting benchmarks in health care quality and patient safety.
Each NABH-accredited hospital has a scope of accreditation that lists the clinical and diagnostic services covered, so you can see whether the department you need is included.
How to check a hospital in five steps
- Ask the hospital, or whoever is arranging your care, for the accreditation certificate: the body, the certificate number and the dates it covers.
- For NABH, use Find an Accredited Healthcare Organisation on nabh.co, or the Verify Certificate section on its homepage with the certificate number.
- For JCI, open the list of JCI-accredited organisations on jointcommissioninternational.org and filter by country.
- Match the exact hospital and city. Accreditation belongs to a named facility, and one hospital group can have accredited and non-accredited hospitals under the same brand.
- Check the dates and, for NABH, that the service you need is in the scope of accreditation.
What accreditation can’t tell you
Accreditation is about how the hospital as a whole is run. It doesn’t tell you:
- How experienced your surgeon is with your exact procedure. Ask how often they perform it.
- What your treatment will cost. Ask for an itemized quote.
- What happens if you need a longer stay or have a complication. Ask before you travel, in writing.
Our guide to the questions to ask before choosing who arranges your surgery covers these in full.
How this fits with OmLina
OmLina works with certified hospitals in India and verifies the accreditations of the surgeons on your shortlist. You are welcome to check any hospital we suggest yourself, using the steps above, before you decide.
Sources
This guide is general information, not medical or legal advice. OmLina is a healthcare concierge, not a hospital: all medical care is given by licensed hospitals and their surgeons.
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