The ‘Patient- Friendly’ standards designed specifically for hospitals in India, encompasses-Patient-Friendly Structure, Patient friendly processes, a programme for ensuring patient friendliness, the various measures to provide quality care, providing safe care, being legal in the day to day operations, following ethical practices in the day to day operations. A full copy of the report can be found in the AHPI website.
Talking about patient friendly standards, Dr. Giridhar Gyani, Founder Director General, AHPI said, “Patient is the most important visitor to the Hospital and through this workshop we are reinforcing this fact. We are confident that hospitals will experience a positive transformation once they comply with the standards. Like the other norms, that we introduced, the ‘Patient Friendly’ standards are also devised keeping in mind the long-term benefits for the hospitals.”
Talking about hosting this workshop, Mr B.G. Menon, Co-Founder and Managing Director of ACME Consulting said, “We at ACME Consulting aspire to set up more ‘Patient-Friendly’ hospitals across the country. People today are educated on healthcare services and expect quality services from hospitals. To bridge this gap between the hospital services and patient expectations, we are organizing such workshops across the country which is aimed at creating more ‘patient-friendly’ hospitals in the country.”
To emphasize on the need for ‘Patient-Friendly’ hospitals in the country, Acme Consulting conducted a one-of a kind workshop organized for health care organizations. The one day workshop witnessed experts from the healthcare and hospital construction sector who addressed the gathering. A panel discussion on this topic with panelists including renowned Dr. Giridhar Gyani, Founder Director General of AHPI and Father of NABH was a fitting cap to the workshop.
About the Patient- Friendly Standards
After the introduction of the Healthcare specific NABH Standards in 2005, many hospitals have set their ambitious target to get the accreditation, with a fairly a few succeeding in getting it over the last 8 years. But for the many aspiring healthcare organizations for Quality recognition, it is still a long wait. However these healthcare organizations need no more to worry, with the introduction of Patient Friendly Standards by AHPI. What is more heartening to note is that these standards are very user-friendly, easy to set their sights on for the much coveted recognition among the patients as the end target in both the standards is the same, namely, meeting & exceeding the patient expectations.
The Patient Friendly Standards broadly covers the patients’ expectations from a good Quality Healthcare delivery system. The standard is divided into 7 broad sections covering structure, process, outcome, safety, legal and ethical aspects of patient friendliness. The standards define the structural requirements within which the patient care amenities are organised keeping in mind the care requirements & safety requirements, right from the point of entry into a healthcare setting to covering all process aspects of registration, admission, clinical care, stay amenities, communication aspects on care and leading up to the point of discharge and post discharge care. The critical activities that are required to be put in place to meet up with the legal & regulatory requirements that bind on the safety and the ethical aspects of care are also given due representation. A hospital that meets up with 100% of the standard requirements can be truly termed a Patient Friendly hospital.
About ACME Consulting
ACME Consulting, a pioneer in providing quality management consulting services in the Healthcare segment was founded in the year 1996, by experienced management professionals, late P. Siva Sankaran and B.G. Menon, to provide consultation services for Corporates and help them to improve their product quality and earn national and international accreditations and certifications. Across the country, ACME has continued to maintain its leadership position in the Healthcare Quality segment and has been selected as the highest technically rated Consulting Organization in the country by NHSRC, the technical wing of National Rural Health Mission of the Ministry of Health, Government of India, consecutively for the last three years.
ACME is the only Healthcare Quality Consultancy in South India to be accredited by the Quality Council of India and ACME is certified by TUV Nord as per DIN EN ISO 9001: 2000 for providing Management Consultancy. Over 15 years of its existence, ACME has strived relentlessly to make hospitals “Patient Friendly”, by aiding them to raise and maintain the standards of service quality. The long and close association with ACME helped many hospitals to improve the clinical and administrative quality of their services, but the core issue of “Patient Satisfaction” still remained a challenge. ACME helps hospitals to become sensitive to this important dimension of their service and implement measures not just once, but day in and day out, month after month, year after year. As part of “Patient Friendly” initiative, ACME works with Dr Girdhar Gyani, Director General of AHPI, Association of Healthcare Providers (India), who is also acknowledged as father of the NABH, to develop the new Patient Friendly Standards for Hospitals, a concept being introduced for the first time in this country.
About AHPI
Association of Healthcare Providers (India) represents the vast majority of healthcare providers in India. It is registered under Indian Society Registration ACT- 1860 as “not for profit” organization. It educates to its members and at the same time, advocates with the government, regulatory bodies and other stake holders on issues, which have bearing on enabling its member organizations in delivering of Universal Healthcare Services to the community at large. The Association of Healthcare Providers (India)'s vision is to have healthy India, encompassing society, community and common man at grass root. AHPI works with all stake holders in establishing a national system where, common man can avail assured universal access to basic health services. The Federation facilitates its members and partnering bodies, in carrying out healthcare improvements to serve the community effectively and efficiently.
AHPI undertakes Advocacy for Healthcare reforms, infrastructural issues, taxation and tariff issues, health insurance concerning matters and any other difficulties face by the healthcare organizations or community for healthcare delivery or obtaining healthcare services with equity. The AHPI Institute of Healthcare Quality develops and conduct various healthcare management courses focusing on patient safety and healthcare quality, where as AHPI Healthcare Certification Centre an another subsidiary body of AHPI develops standards for different categories of healthcare establishments, certification of compliance of various standards by the healthcare agencies and customized certified training programs and training (QMS and Healthcare managerial training) for the industry. AHPI also provides information assistance to its member organization on various problematic issues face by the client members. AHPI in a short period of time has become the esteemed organization in the healthcare industry comprising of about 10000 hospitals as its members.
