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Apollo Hospitals, Chennai has been granted accreditation by the Joint Commission International of US for its quality and safety standards in patient care.
JCI accreditation is the 'gold' standard for US and European hospitals which maintain high levels of patient care and safety.
The Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, is the first hospital in south India to achieve this accreditation. It is also the second facility in the Apollo Hospitals group and third hospital in India to be accredited by JCI. Apollo Hospitals in Delhi and Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai have already been granted this accreditation.
The JCI accreditation is expected to help the hospital strengthen community confidence in the quality and safety in patient care, treatment and service. It will also help organise and strengthen patient safety efforts.
Addressing a press conference, I Satyamurthy, director - cardiology, Apollo Hospitals, said the accreditation process was the first step in globalisation of healthcare and it would open new avenues and vistas in the international medical tourism for Apollo.
Prathap Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals group, said the group was aiming to provide the best of West and East in healthcare.
Other hospitals in the group were also trying to get into this accreditation process. Hospitals in Ludhiana, Dhakha, (Bangladesh) and Colombo (Sri Lanka) had already begun their exercises, he added.
Many hospitals in India would go for JCI accreditation in the next 24-36 months, he said. Apollo Group was in discussion with a hotel chain to connect all its leisure hotels with Apollo Hospitals, he said. Answering a question, Reddy said the cost of treatment could be reduced when the quality and safety efforts were improved.
JCI's evaluation of Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, was conducted from January 23 to 28 by a team of international healthcare experts including a doctor, a nurse and an administrator. The accredited hospital must also undergo an onsite survey by JCI every three years.
The JCI standards focus on areas that directly impact patient care. These include access to care, assessment of patients, infection control, patient and family rights and education. Standards also address facility management and safety, staff qualifications, quality improvement, organisational leadership and management of information.
JCI is a division of Joint Commission Resources Inc, an affiliate of the Joint Commission on Accreditation for Healthcare Organisations, an independent non-governmental and not-for-profit organisation to improve the quality healthcare in the US. At present, 53 hospitals in Europe, Middle East, South America, Africa and Asia have got JCI accreditation.
