Indian Healthcare Federation (IHFC) To Launch Country's First Accreditation System For Healthcare Institutions

Indian Healthcare Federation (IHCF). The apex body of healthcare service providers in India, is about to launch the country's first accreditation system for healthcare institutions. IHCF is working closely with US based accreditation organization, Joint Commission International (JCI), to set the parameters of the system. 

"We are talking to JCI to modify their set of parameters in the Indian context. The accreditation will , for the first time, set standards of clinical care in India and provide a significant boost to international medical tourism initiative," IHCF vice president Suneeta Reddy said. Ms. Reddy was talking to newspersons in the sidelines of the 'Healthcare East' summit organized by CII here on Wednesday.

IHCF officials are talking with JCI officials and have planned a series of meetings in Thailand and India. JCI is an independent, not for profit or ganisation, setting standards by which health care quality is measured in America and around the world. It evaluates the quality and safety of care for nearly 16,000 health care organization world-wide.

The accreditation will set standards for infection control, continuity and quality of care, adhering to standard procedures of drug delivery, hospital safety infrastructure, design of patient facilities like beds and toilets and other set of similar parameters. " We hope to start the system by the end of the year. All the 150 hospitals in India under IHCF will go for this accreditation system," said Mr. Anupam Sibal, member, accreditation committee, IHCF.

IHCF's accreditation, in the lines of JCI, will provide a significant boost to the international medical tourism initiative of the Indian hospitals. " International insurance companies doesn't recognize the ISO systems for hospitals as it does not stress on clinical care. Once hospitals get clinically accredited on common set of parameters things will start taking an over turn. We are also looking at pricing parity of healthcare services to set common standards for over seas patients," Ms Reddy added.

(Ref : Economic Times, September 30, 2004)

Asia's Largest Healthcare City Soon In West Bengal (India)

West Bengal may soon have Asia's largest integrated healthcare city spread over 800 acres with an investment of around Rs. 20,000 crore. The state government has agreed in principle to work with the nodal body of Kolkata's twelve corporate hospitals Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI) for the project. 

As per initial plans, the project (Christened Bengal Health City) will have 100 hospitals with 500 beds each. There will be a duster of hotels and guesthouses to accommodate about 25,000 people visiting along with patients. Plans are afoot to build a shopping mall, Cineplex, medical college, paramedical and nursing college and hospital management school.

That's not all. There will be an international building for foreign medical tourists that will house interpreter services, travel services, representative offices of foreign consulates and other government offices. The building will also have a helipad on its roof for air-lifting emergency patients. 

The state government has already promised its participation in the project. "Chief minster Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has assured us land wither at Rajarhat or Sonarpur-Baruipur belt on a priority basis. He has agreed to provide 800 acres of land," AHEI president Sajal Dutta told ET. 

About 50% of the capacity would be ear marked and built for international medical tourists. " We will go for various level of international accreditation like JCAHO," he added. In fact, AHEI now plans to rope in consultancy firms like McKinsey and KPMG to finalize the modalities. " Our studies have suggested that at 80% occupancy leve, the hospitals will generate a turnover of about Rs. 14,000 crore in the first year and the supplementary services about Rs. 6,000 crore. The project will provide employment opportunity to nearly 3 lakh people, " Mr. Dutta said.

(Ref: Economic Times, September 29, 2004)