NBE Announces Joint Accreditation Program For All Applicant Hospitals, Medical Colleges for DNB courses, Check out details

Delhi: The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has announced Joint Accreditation Program for all applicant Hospitals /Institutions /Medical Colleges.

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) accredits hospitals/institutions for running DNB/DrNB/FNB/Diploma courses in various Broad & Super Specialty and Fellowship courses. Accreditation Department invites applications for fresh/renewal accreditation twice a year in January/February and July/August.

Many hospitals fail to receive NBEMS Accreditation despite having good facilities and the infrastructure to offer PG training because they fall short of meeting a few of the minimum accreditation criteria specified by the NBEMS. To utilize the available resources of hospitals and to provide them with an opportunity to give PG training, a scheme for Joint accreditation of the hospitals has been approved by the NBEMS.

Objectives of the Joint Accreditation –

1. Resource Utilization

2. Caseload and Case Mix Distribution

3. Upscale the quality of the training program

4. Financial Sharing

Applicability –

The concept of Joint Accreditation shall only be limited to Broad-Specialties (DNB Courses).

The types of hospitals that can join the program –

1. Govt. Hospital to Govt. Hospital

2. Private to Govt. Hospital

3. Private to Private Hospital

4. Standalone Imaging/Diagnostic Lab Centres along with a Hospital

NBE has further informed that the institutions already running the NMC courses cannot participate in the program.

Hospital Infrastructure for Joint Accreditation –

Location of the Hospitals -

1. Both the hospitals participating in the Joint Accreditation Program will be located in the same city & preferably within 30 km of each other. They will apply jointly and will jointly complement each other’s deficit in the training requirements.

2. For the functional purpose, it will be a single program, but for the Administration purpose, one institute will be known as Primary Institute, and the other smaller institute will be considered a Secondary Institute.

Bed strength, caseload, and faculty requirement -

1. For Joint Accreditation, each of the two participating hospitals should have a minimum of 90 beds; i.e., hospitals with less than 90 beds will not be considered for the purpose of joint accreditation.

2. The caseload and faculties of both the participating hospitals will be clubbed together, and the participating hospitals will have to fulfill the Minimum Accreditation Criteria of NBEMS in terms of caseload, case mix, faculty, etc.

3. There should be at least one Senior Consultant OR one Junior Consultant in both the participating hospitals.

4. The minimum accreditation criteria for Joint Accreditation, i.e., Bed Strength, full-time faculty, Case Load, Institutional Ethics Committee, and others, shall be the same as indicated in the Accreditation Information Bulletin (please refer to https://natboard.edu.in for the latest Information Bulletin).

The number of Joint Accreditation the hospitals can have is tabulated below -

Stipend –

The stipend will be shared by both institutions, i.e., if the trainee is in institution A, the stipend will be paid by institution A. Similarly, if the trainee is in Institution B, the stipend will be paid by Institution B.

Monitoring of the program -

There shall be a single Joint Academic Committee from both participating hospitals. This committee will be responsible for imparting training, rotation, and monitoring of the training of the candidate.

Composition of Joint Academic Committee –

The composition of the Joint Academic Committee for Monitoring the Training of the candidates is as under -

1. Head of the Primary Institute

2. Head of the Secondary Institute

3. Single Point of Contact of Primary Institute

4. Single Point of Contact of Secondary Institute

5. Nodal Officer/DNB Coordinator for the DNB Course

Further, there would be a Nodal officer who would coordinate with NBEMS for issues pertaining to the accreditation and training of the trainees.

A grievance redressal cell should be made comprising an equal number of members from both organizations.

Composition of Grievance Redressal Cell: The composition of the Grievance Redressal Cell for the Redressal of the grievances of the candidates proposed is as under –

1. Head of the Primary Institute - Chairman

2. Head of the Secondary Institute

3. In-house, Senior Consultant, Medical Specialty

4. In-house, Senior Consultant, Surgical Specialty

5. Nodal Officer/DNB Coordinator for the Joint Accreditation Program.

6. Representative of DNB Candidates of the hospital

7. External Medical Expert of the Rank of Professor of a Govt. Medical College

The grievances arising from the Joint Accreditation Program will be primarily resolved by the Joint Academic Committee of the participating hospitals and the grievance redressal cell.

If the main accredited institute, i.e., the primary institute, fails to continue the Joint Accreditation Program, then all the residents shall be relocated per the NBEMS guidelines. In case of failure of the secondary institute to continue the program, the primary accredited institute will ensure the completion of training of the existing trainees, and no further trainees will be inducted into the program till a new collaborator is identified.

The liability will be held by both the participating institution, and there will be a mandatory tripartite legal agreement to be signed by both the institution as well as NBEMS.

Department / Specialty already accredited with NBEMS cannot participate in the Joint Accreditation program.

Physical Assessment / Inspection –

Inspection of both hospitals applying for Joint Accreditation shall be conducted. The same assessor will carry out both the hospital’s inspections on the same day.

Minimum Accreditation Criteria for Standalone Diagnostic Centres and Labs -

1. The existing minimum accreditation criteria for DNB Radio diagnosis and DNB Pathology should be applicable for standalone centers.

2. The hospital with which the standalone Pathology lab or standalone diagnostic center would be attached should be recognized for DNB Pathology and DNB Radio Diagnosis, respectively.

3. Rotational Posting of the trainee to the hospital should be for 03 months per year i.e. 09 months in the entire duration of 03 years of the program.

4. The stipend during the rotational posting shall be borne by the standalone center.

5. There should be at least 02 full-time faculty members in the standalone center

Further, the application for the Joint Accreditation scheme from desirous hospitals/institutions will be invited in July 2023.

To view the notice, click on the link below –

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/natboard-datapublicnoticenotice202306306641-213283.pdf