Healthcare body mulls quality rating

In order to introduce an element of standardisation in healthcare services, the Indian Healthcare Federation (IHF) is considering grading hospitals in terms of quality of healthcare.

"We are talking to ICRA and CRISIL to grade hospitals under the aegis of the IHF, " said Naresh Trehan, President, Indian Healthcare Federation.

"We expect to have our first round of gradings out by the end of this year," he added.

The IHF is also talking to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organisations, JAHCO, which is a US based healthcare accreditation agency.

The need for grading has arisen in view of the vast potential for health tourism, wherein people come to India to get treated.

"The state of healthcare in India is now comparable, if not better than in the west. At a tenth of the cost, patients can get results comparable to those in the United States," said Trehan.

Rating will help potential customers, including foreigners seeking treatment in India to decide on which hospitals they wish to get treated in.

The Confederation of Indian Industry had recently organised a visit of 21 healthcare providers to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The delegation was headed by Trehan, who is also Chairman, CII National Committee on Healthcare and Director, Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre.

Among the objectives was showcasing Indian centers of excellence and working out mechanisms for patient referrals.The decision to expedite the rating of hosptials under the IHF was a fallout of the visit.

A large number of hospitals in the small to medium size segment, which are facing competition from organised players, are also independently seeking ratings.

" A number of such hospitals have approached us for getting their services graded, said Ashish Jain, Manager, ICRA. ICRA grades hospitals on a four-point scale depending on the quality of healthcare they provide.