NABH and JCI: what hospital accreditation tells you — and what it doesn’t
India had 1,299 NABH-accredited hospitals according to the Government of India (PIB, May 2026). Here is how to read a badge and check one yourself.
Choosing Care · 5 October 2026 · By Nikhil Sharma, Founder
Accreditation is an independent check that a hospital meets a defined set of standards for safety and quality. For international patients in India, two matter most: NABH, the national standard, and JCI, an international one. According to the Government of India, the country had 1,299 NABH-accredited hospitals (PIB, May 2026).
NABH
The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers is a constituent board of the Quality Council of India. Its public directory lets anyone check whether a hospital is currently accredited.
JCI
Joint Commission International is the international arm of The Joint Commission in the United States. Its accreditation runs on a three-year cycle, which means a badge on a website may be out of date.
What accreditation doesn’t tell you
- Whether a particular department or surgeon is right for your case
- What your outcome will be
- What your treatment will cost
How to check a badge yourself
Search the hospital on the accreditor’s own directory, not on the hospital’s website. On IndiaMedica every badge shows where we checked it and when, and a badge older than twelve months stops showing until it is re-checked.
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