The document was prepared by NITI Aayog without taking into account impact of demonetisation, also talked about 8 per cent growth under the optimistic scenario, but it may not be possible now. The document was prepared by NITI Aayog without taking into account impact of demonetisation, also talked about 8 per cent growth under the optimistic scenario, but it may not be possible now.

With an aim to assess the performance of district hospitals based on their outcomes, the Centre’s think-tank Niti Aayog, in a joint-exercise with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has launched an index focusing primarily on outputs, including for the first time feedback from the patients.

“Despite large funds being allocated to district hospitals and their critical role in healthcare provision, there is no comprehensive system to assess their performance based on outcomes. To address this lacuna, Niti Aayog, today (Friday), launched a framework to track the performance of district hospitals across all States/UTs focusing primarily on outputs and outcomes,” an official statement said, adding that nearly 700 hospitals would be a part of this exercise.

Under this framework, ranks would be generated on an online portal with no manual entries and minimal additional work for states. Data will be validated before getting displayed on the online portal in the form of hospital rankings.

“This framework for ranking district hospitals, with focus on achieving key health outcomes, is expected to foster a competitive spirit amongst district hospitals and states in addition to in fostering a culture of cooperation by way of sharing of good practices. Further, it will help identify facilities which need focus and those that need to be incentivised by the state governments,” the statement said.

Niti Aayog already ranks states based on social sector indices such as health services, education, and clean water. In December, Niti Aayog had launched a performance index on outcomes of health services that was expected to push the states to improve their systems for these services.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Business News, download Indian Express App.