NABH Introduces New Online Application Portal for its SHCO Accreditation Programme

The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) has launched a new online application portal for its Small Healthcare Organisations (SHCO) (maximum sanctioned bed strength of 50) Accreditation Programme in order to improve application experience, security, and turnaround time. SHCO's new online application portal went live on August 15, 2023, and the existing (old) application portal was closed at midnight on August 14, 2023. NABH CEO Dr. Atul Mohan Kochhar has urged all applicants and accredited SHCOs to adhere to the new transition plan for moving to a new online application portal.

"All new applicants and accredited SHCOs who are completing the application form for final and renewal assessments on the old portal must apply on the new application portal." All new applicant SHCOs and accredited SHCOs who completed the application form for final and renewal assessment through the old portal but have not received assessment dates must switch to the new application portal. The assessment will be assigned on the new portal after the SHCO fills and completes the application process on the new portal. All the SHCOs, which are due for surveillance assessment but have not received dates for surveillance assessments are required to fill the online application form on the new portal. All the accredited SHCOs, which are not due for any assessment in near future, will be notified in due course of time to migrate to the new portal which will be over the next 3 months,” Dr Kochhar explained.

This has created a quality benchmark which is not only within the reach of the vast majority of hospitals, but also sets the stage for steady progress to higher levels of NABH standards. The NABH pre-accreditation entry-level standards for SHCOs consist of 41 standards and 149 objective elements. These pre-accreditation entry-level standards are in accordance with the standards of the NABH. NABH identified a subset suited for the creation of pre-accreditation entry-level certification by NABH, which could be feasibly undertaken by resource restrained hospitals, could be independently assessed, and which could be used as standardized empanelment criteria for health insurance programmes, meeting their common needs for quality and patient safety.