To gain insights and compare different quality certification programs for public health facilities in India

The Government Health system has started to implement various quality certification programs (QCPs) like National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS), Kayakalp, Labour room, and Quality improvement initiatives (LaQshya), etc., on a wider scale. Rural and tribal India poses significant challenges when it comes to addressing healthcare quality. So it's very crucial to compare the checkpoints, standards, and elements of these programs as some might have overlapping which can sometimes lead to extra efforts in implementation, which should not happen. Thus, this present study was designed to find out various means of verification, common standards, and checkpoints amongst them. Understand quality certification programs such as Kayakalp and NQAS. Identify various verification methods, common standards, measurable elements, and checklists associated with these quality certification programs. This study has done a detailed overview of all available quality improvement programs for Primary Health Centre and Sub Health Centre (Health and Wellness Centre). Also, it included 1-2 Quality certification programs specific to community health centers like MusQan in this study to get an idea of the services expected to be available there as its first referral point from PHC. Comparison of these QCPs included a systematic evaluation with the use of their standardized checklists. The researcher studied all QCPs and calculated every QCP's standards, criteria, checkpoints, and means of verification with the use of an Excel sheet. Standards in NQAS-related QCP like NQAS for PHC, LaQshya (Labour room and Quality improvement initiatives) in the comparison to NQAS PHC's labor room criteria, Musquan, and NQAS for HWC were relatively the same. In the same way, Kayakalp for PHC and HWC, Indian Public Health Standards for PHC (2022), Bronze certification under AB-PMJAY (Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna), and NABH (National Accreditation Board for hospital and healthcare providers) standards for PHC and CHC are relatively guided by IPHS and other general criteria. A systematic evaluation was conducted to assess each program's features and outcomes, enabling a detailed comparison. Overall, after considering and looking after all standards for quality improvement initiatives, we can say that they are connected. Almost all QCPs have areas like patient safety, infrastructure availability, infection control practices, manuals and SOPs, training of all staff, satisfaction surveys, data collection and management techniques, cleanliness drives, and other support services. So if any facility wants to achieve higher results and have a system of quality care, they should first prefer QCP, which starts with a smaller number of standards like Kayakalp. Subsequently, they can later on go for SaQushal, Bronze for PMJAY, and finally NQAS. This ensures that quality is continuously upheld, and the staff of health facilities becomes well-versed in overall relevant terminologies and processes. QCPs hold great promise as they enable and empower these facilities to achieve quality and higher standards with the availability of better care. Overall, after considering and looking after all standards for quality improvement initiatives, we can say that they are connected. So if any facility wants to achieve higher results and have a system of quality care, they should first prefer QCP which has lower standards and checkpoints.