The Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) Program for Medical Travel Services and the Quality Accreditation Institute (QAI) have announced a joint accreditation programme aimed at hospitals and clinics in India. Thanks to the new partnership, hospitals and clinics in India will be able to apply for certifications identifying them as healthcare providers that provide an optimal medical travel experience.

Accreditation will help healthcare providers navigate the ‘new normal’

“Healthcare providers desiring to provide an optimal medical travel experience must develop new competencies and ensure their services and protocols are aligned with the needs of medical travel patients and buyers of healthcare services as we move to a 'new normal’,” said Karen Timmons, Chief Executive Officer at GHA.

She added: “We are pleased to collaborate with QAI in support of the medical travel patient and we applaud its commitment to provide healthcare providers in India with solutions that prioritise the patient experience for medical travellers. Hospitals participating in GHA accreditation shall also benefit with additional visibility through GHA distribution channels, and QAI will also provide additional visibility to GHA accredited hospitals through its distribution channels.”

India, as a cost-effective healthcare destination, will prove to be popular for medical travel

The fact that Indian hospitals and clinics offer clinical care on par with some of the best hospitals globally while being substantially cost effective, means there is ‘tremendous potential’ and ‘opportunity’ for these facilities to attract overseas patients from both developing and developed countries, reasons Dr Bhupendra Kumar Rana, Chief Executive Officer of QAI.

“We are excited about this partnership with GHA to extend benefits of global accreditation standards for medical travel services to Indian hospitals and their international patients,” he said. “Such patients will not only enjoy best treatment but also get opportunity to treat themselves with rich heritage, diversity and great tourism opportunities of Indian States.”