Infographic
Indian healthcare is checked by two kinds of body. Accreditors such as NABH and JCI assess hospitals against quality standards. Regulators set legal rules: the National Medical Commission registers doctors, NOTTO oversees organ donation and transplants, and the National ART and Surrogacy Registry covers fertility clinics. Knowing which body checks what helps you verify claims.
IndiaMedicaAccreditation and regulation in Indian healthcareWhat is the difference between accreditation and regulation?
Accreditation is a quality assessment a hospital chooses to undergo. Regulation is the law every provider must follow. A hospital can be fully licensed without being accredited. An accredited hospital still has to meet every legal rule.
Who accredits hospitals?
NABH is India’s national hospital standard. It is run by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers, a constituent board of the Quality Council of India. Its public directory lets anyone check a hospital’s status. IndiaMedica cites a May 2026 government figure of more than 1,299 NABH-accredited hospitals. JCI is the international arm of The Joint Commission in the United States. Its accreditation runs on a three-year cycle, so an old JCI badge may not be current.
Who regulates doctors, transplants and fertility care?
- Doctors: the National Medical Commission is a statutory body under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, set up under the NMC Act 2019. Its Indian Medical Register can be searched by name or registration number.
- Transplants: NOTTO is a national organisation under the Directorate General of Health Services. It runs the national organ and tissue donation registry.
- Fertility: the National ART and Surrogacy Portal is run by the Department of Health Research and links to the national registry of ART clinics and banks.
How does IndiaMedica use these sources?
IndiaMedica checks each accreditation badge against its source and shows the date checked. Badges older than twelve months are hidden until re-checked. Before a hospital becomes a partner, it checks the accreditor’s public directory. Where only a hospital’s own statement could be confirmed, the page says so.
Verify at the source
A badge on a brochure is a claim. The accreditor’s directory or the regulator’s register is the evidence.
Questions people ask
Is a JCI-accredited hospital better than a NABH one?
Neither label ranks hospitals. Both assess quality and safety systems against published standards. What matters for you is whether the specialist team has experience with your condition and whether the accreditation is current.
Who regulates medical travel facilitators?
Facilitators are not accreditors or regulators. Ask any facilitator how it is paid and which hospitals it works with. Then check its claims about hospitals and doctors against the accreditor’s directory and the medical register yourself.
Sources
- IndiaMedica – Hospitals
- National Medical Commission
- NOTTO – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
- National ART & Surrogacy Portal
General information, not medical or legal advice. Rules change: confirm with the official source. How we write and check.