The Maharashtra government has approved a five-star rating system for 623 hospitals operated by the state Public Health Department in an effort to improve healthcare standards, increase transparency and help patients assess the quality of services offered at government medical facilities.
The decision was announced through a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the Public Health Department on Friday.
The new rating framework will cover a wide network of public healthcare institutions, including district hospitals, sub-district hospitals, rural hospitals, women’s hospitals, general hospitals, referral service hospitals, trauma care centres and Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) hospitals.
According to the GR, the initiative is designed to provide citizens with a simple and transparent way to evaluate the quality of services at government hospitals while encouraging healthcare institutions to continuously improve their performance.
Hospitals will be assessed on five broad parameters comprising 10 measurable criteria. These include the availability of specialist doctors and healthcare staff, essential medicines and diagnostic services, outpatient attendance and bed occupancy, medical services such as deliveries and major surgeries, and patient amenities along with feedback.
Each criterion will be marked as either “complete” or “incomplete.” Hospitals will earn half a star for every criterion fulfilled, while unmet criteria will receive no score. The cumulative score will determine a hospital’s overall rating, ranging from zero to five stars.
Evaluations will be carried out through physical inspections and verification of official records. Separate benchmarks will be applied for different categories of hospitals to ensure fair assessment based on the type of institution.
The state government will publish the ratings twice a year, in January and August, based on each hospital’s performance during the preceding assessment period. Hospitals that secure four stars or higher will receive a special certificate of recognition from the government.
The Public Health Department said the initiative aims to establish a transparent and publicly visible quality benchmark for government hospitals, promote continuous improvement in healthcare services, enable citizens to compare facilities more easily, and strengthen public confidence in the state’s healthcare system.
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