Practo Deep-Dive into Specialty Excellence: Determining the best hospital for your specific medical conditions
Every year, millions of people face the daunting task of selecting the right hospital for their healthcare needs. With the increasing complexity of medical conditions, it’s no longer sufficient to simply choose a facility; patients must find a hospital that excels in their specific area of care. This is where specialty excellence becomes paramount.
Traditionally, healthcare accreditation systems like NABH have provided a baseline for hospital quality. However, these systems may not always capture the full extent of a hospital’s expertise in specific medical specialties. This is where Practo Assured steps in. Our pioneering initiative goes beyond general accreditation to delve deep into the intricacies of specialized care, ensuring patients receive the highest quality treatment tailored to their specific medical needs.
Why Practo Assured? Addressing the Gaps in Traditional Healthcare Accreditation
While traditional accreditation systems like NABH provide a crucial foundation for hospital quality and safety, there is a gap when it comes to evaluating the nuances of specialized care. Super Specialties like Neurology, Cardiology, Oncology, Urology, Nephrology, Pulmonology etc demand advanced technology in terms of diagnostic, medical and surgical infrastructure and specialties such as Pediatrics, General Surgery, Orthopedics, Internal Medicine, ENT, Obstetrics and Gynaecology require specialized expertise and stringent hygienic and safety protocols beyond general accreditation standards for the best clinical outcome. Practo Assured bridges this gap by introducing a comprehensive evaluation framework that delves deep into specialty wise excellence rating.
Practo Assured’s rigorous assessment goes beyond general healthcare accreditation to specialty wise assessment to identify the top notch hospitals in quality for a particular specialty. This commitment to specialization empowers patients to make informed decisions and connect with healthcare providers who prioritize their unique medical needs, ensuring the highest standard of care. Unlike traditional systems, Practo Assured focuses on in-depth specialty evaluation, a patient-centric approach, and continuous quality improvement to transform healthcare delivery.
The Hospital Excellence Rating (HER): A Blueprint for Superior Care
At the core of the Practo Assured initiative is the Hospital Excellence Rating (HER), a detailed evaluation system designed to measure, evaluate and analyse to ensure the highest standards of specialty care. The HER is not just about ticking boxes; it’s about ensuring that hospitals are well equipped to provide the best possible outcomes for patients in specific areas of medical practice.
HER Parameters: A Comprehensive Approach to Healthcare Evaluation
The HER framework evaluates hospitals across multiple dimensions, each critical to delivering top-notch specialty care. Here’s how it works:
- Diagnostics and Treatment infrastructure: The backbone of any hospital’s ability to deliver excellent care is its infrastructure. HER evaluates the availability and quality of specialized equipment and facilities, ensuring that hospitals have all the advanced tools to perform accurate diagnosis and treatments. For example, in pediatric care, the presence of NICUs and specialized pediatric emergency units is critical, while in cardiac care, advanced cardiac cath labs and Cardiopulmonary bypass are essential.
- Patient Safety and Hygiene: Safety and Hygiene are paramount in healthcare, and HER places a strong emphasis on this. The score evaluates hospitals on various Safety Measures such as handrails along corridors, secure railings in ward bathrooms, dry bathroom floors, medical gas supply alarms, ambulance services, crash cart facilities, availability of emergency equipment, and staff-to-patient ratios. Our audits ensure stringent hygiene protocols, including advanced engineering controls to prevent infections in operation theaters, comprehensive cleanliness assessments for wards, private rooms, lobbies, and waiting areas, and adherence to international sterlisation guidelines. We verify the presence of a well-structured Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD) with CSSD technicians. Effective biomedical waste management for proper segregation and disposal is also confirmed.
- Specialty-Specific Rating: Unlike general accreditation, HER dives deep into the specific capabilities of a hospital within each medical specialty. It assesses whether the hospital has the right mix of specialized staff, advanced diagnostic facilities, different treatment options, intensive care units and support services for that particular specialty for example in oncology, HER evaluates the availability of advanced diagnostic facilities such as mammogram, CT, MRI, PET-Scan, treatment options such as chemotherapy, robotic surgical oncology, and cutting edge internal and external radiation therapy systems.
- Patient Convenience and Support Services: A hospital’s ability to provide a smooth and supportive experience for patients is crucial, especially for those undergoing complex treatments. We ensure hospitals in our network provide exceptional patient convenience, including comprehensive insurance coverage, quality food provisions, well-equipped general and private wards, wheelchair accessibility, intuitive floor-wise navigation, and ample parking facilities. Also supportive services such as genetic counseling, dietetics services, rehabilitation and palliative care.
- Specialty Excellence in Action: Practical Examples to better understand how HER ensures specialty excellence, consider these examples:
- Pediatrics: HER evaluates the infrastructure and quality of PICU, NICU and Pediatric emergency departments to ensure it provides specialized care for critically ill and premature infants, improving overall survival rates and positive clinical outcomes. Also checks the availability of Isolation units for communicable diseases, Immunization facilities, and Nebulization units which protect children from preventable diseases and provide comprehensive care for children.
- Cardiology: In cardiac care, HER looks at the hospital’s capability to perform complex procedures such as angioplasties and open-heart surgeries. The availability of advanced cardiac cath labs and resuscitative equipment like cardiopulmonary bypass machines is crucial for ensuring patient safety and successful outcomes.
- Oncology: In oncology, HER focuses on the presence of advanced diagnostic and treatment infrastructure crucial for addressing India’s growing cancer burden. This includes the availability of Mammogram, PET-CT and MRI facilities, which are essential for early cancer detection, and linear accelerators for precise radiation therapy, which is especially relevant given the rising incidence of cancer in urban and rural areas alike. HER also evaluates the presence of specialized oncology nursing teams trained in handling complex chemotherapy protocols and managing side effects, which is vital for improving patient outcomes in India’s diverse healthcare landscape.
Looking Ahead: Advancing Specialty Care and Patient Trust
Practo Assured is more than a scoring system; it’s a commitment to specialty excellence. By honing in on the unique demands of various specialties, the Practo Assured network ensures that patients receive the highest quality care, precisely tailored to their specific health needs. This initiative not only enhances healthcare standards but also empowers patients to make informed decisions about their treatment options.
Hospitals that join the Practo Assured network demonstrate their unwavering dedication to excellence in patient care, earning recognition as leaders in their respective specialties. This commitment builds lasting trust with patients, fostering better health outcomes and strengthening the healthcare system as a whole.
Join the movement towards superior healthcare. Partner with Practo Assured today and be part of a network of high quality facilities aimed at better treatment outcomes.
