What does hospital accreditation mean?
Accreditation means an independent body has assessed a hospital against published standards for patient safety and quality of care, usually through an on-site survey, and found that it meets them. It is granted for a fixed period and must be renewed. It applies to a specific hospital, not to a whole brand.
Standards cover areas such as infection control, medication safety, patient rights, staff qualifications and how the hospital measures and improves its own performance. A hospital has to show that it follows its own written processes, not only that it has them.
For a patient travelling from abroad, accreditation is a useful first filter. It tells you that a hospital has chosen to be inspected against a recognised standard and has passed. It does not tell you everything you need to choose a hospital, which is why the questions further down this page matter too.
What is NABH?
NABH is the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers, India’s national accreditation body for hospitals. It is a constituent board of the Quality Council of India and publishes its own standards for Indian healthcare organisations. Many Indian private hospitals hold NABH accreditation.
NABH also accredits other kinds of providers, including AYUSH centres for traditional medicine, under separate standards. When you check a hospital, make sure the accreditation shown is the hospital accreditation for that site.
You may also see NABL on a hospital’s list. NABL accredits laboratories, not hospitals, so it tells you about the hospital’s testing laboratory rather than the hospital as a whole.
What is JCI?
JCI is Joint Commission International, the international arm of The Joint Commission in the United States. It accredits hospitals in many countries against international standards. In India a smaller number of hospitals hold JCI accreditation, often alongside NABH, and you can check each one on the JCI website.
Because JCI works across many countries, its accreditation is familiar to patients, insurers and employers outside India. Some international insurers and employers ask for a particular accreditation before they approve treatment abroad, so check with yours if that applies to you.
Is JCI better than NABH?
Not in a way that should decide your treatment on its own. Both assess hospitals against detailed safety and quality standards. JCI is more widely recognised abroad; NABH is India’s national standard and is held by many more Indian hospitals. Either is a meaningful signal, and a hospital may hold both.
The more useful comparison is between hospitals for your particular procedure: the experience of the team, how often they perform it, and what their own outcome data shows. Accreditation sets a floor, and those questions tell you about the care you are actually likely to receive.
How do I verify a hospital’s accreditation myself?
Search the accrediting body’s official website for the hospital by name and city, and check that the entry matches the exact site where you will be treated and that its status is current. NABH lists accredited organisations at nabh.co, and JCI lists accredited organisations at jointcommissioninternational.org.
- Note the hospital’s full name and its city or district, exactly as it appears on its estimate.
- Open the official website of NABH or JCI. Do not rely on a logo on a hospital or facilitator website.
- Use the site’s search or list of accredited organisations to find the hospital.
- Check that the address matches. A hospital group may have one site accredited and another not.
- Check that the accreditation is current and has not expired or been suspended.
This takes a few minutes, and it is worth doing for every hospital you are considering, including the ones we suggest.
How does Massvaa Care show accreditation on its hospital pages?
Each hospital page shows NABH or JCI status only where we have confirmed it on the official registry. If a hospital page shows no accreditation, it means we have not yet recorded one, not that the hospital has none. You can always check the registry yourself.
We verify partner facilities by checking the official public registries of these boards. We do not copy accreditation claims from marketing material, and we would rather show nothing than a claim we have not checked.
What does accreditation not tell me?
Accreditation does not measure an individual surgeon’s experience, how often the hospital performs your procedure, or its results for patients like you. It does not guarantee an outcome. Ask the hospital for its own outcome data, and discuss the treatment plan with your doctor at home.
- Discuss the hospital’s treatment plan with your own doctor at home.
- Ask the hospital for its own outcome data for your procedure.
- Check the hospital’s accreditation on the official registry.
- Read the written estimate’s inclusions and exclusions with us.
Massvaa Care does not guarantee clinical outcomes and does not make clinical decisions. We help you gather the information, and the choice is yours.
Quick answers
What is the difference between NABH and JCI?
NABH is India’s national accreditation board for hospitals. JCI is Joint Commission International, which accredits hospitals in many countries. Both assess hospitals against detailed safety and quality standards, and a hospital may hold both.
How can I check if an Indian hospital is NABH or JCI accredited?
Search the official NABH website (nabh.co) or the official JCI website (jointcommissioninternational.org) for the hospital by name and city, and check that the entry matches the exact site and is current.
Does accreditation guarantee a good result?
No. Accreditation shows that a hospital meets published safety and quality standards. It does not guarantee an individual outcome. Ask the hospital for its own outcome data for your procedure.
This guide is general information to help you plan. It is not medical advice. Massvaa Care is a non-clinical facilitator: treatment decisions are made by you with the treating hospital’s specialists, and visa decisions by the Indian authorities.
