The Hindu Business Line : Drive for quality management in healthcare field

THE time has come for healthcare service providers in the country to understand the implications of impending changes in rules and guidelines governing various aspects of the industry.

All large hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, clinical laboratories and X-Ray/ CT Scan/ MRI services will be required to fall in line with the evolving specifications, according to a spokeswoman of the Thiruvanan- thapuram branch of the National Institute for Quality and Reliability (NIQR).

All major players will be required to stand up and be counted. As a professional body of quality managers, engineers, technicians, industries, R&D institutions, trade and business establishments, NIQR has been conducting a series of awareness programmes on quality aspects of healthcare.

The Thiruvananthapuram branch will host such a programme here on October 30, which will be open for doctors, hospital administrators, consultants, biomedical engineers and lab-in-charges. The programme will seek to further the NIQR campaign aimed at assimilating and propagating quality management in the country, the spokeswoman said.

The key resource person for this workshop will be Dr Balaraman Nair, former Director of Medical Education and former Principal, Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. Details can be had on phones (0471) 2724666, 2724254, Mobile 98473-10216, Fax: 2721519 or e-mail tplvn@vsnl.net.

All's not well: There is a growing awareness in the Government that the present status of healthcare delivery in India is far from satisfactory. This has been mostly traced to the absence of regulations and consequently of standards and standardisation in healthcare delivery processes and systems in the country.

Already steps have been initiated to frame rules and guidelines governing various aspects of the healthcare delivery. Accreditation programmes are being drawn up for hospitals, clinical laboratories and imaging services. These can be expected to become mandatory shortly, the spokeswoman said.

Out-of-pocket spending by individual families today accounts for most of the spending in healthcare. Steps are now being taken to enlarge the scope of medical insurance coverage which can be expected to grow as a significant percentage of total healthcare spend.

Insurance companies will insist on approved and accredited hospitals, labs and imaging services to qualify for their involvement.

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