Two commitments sit at the foundation. The Ayush hospital commits to comply with NABH standards, and to comply with applicable legal, statutory and regulatory requirements. That second one is where many facilities have gaps, because Ayush regulation sits across multiple authorities.

Broadly, expect the framework to require evidence across these areas — confirm the exact chapter structure against the current standards document on the NABH website:

Clinical process and protocols. Documented assessment, diagnosis and treatment protocols grounded in the relevant system of medicine. Therapy plans that are recorded, reviewed and modified with documented clinical reasoning. This is where strong facilities already excel and weak ones have nothing written down.

Practitioner credentialling. Qualifications verified against the relevant statutory council registration. Scope of practice defined for each practitioner. Therapists — who deliver much of the hands-on treatment in Panchakarma settings — need documented training, competency assessment and supervision arrangements.

Medicine management. Procurement from licensed manufacturers, storage conditions appropriate to the formulation, batch and expiry tracking, and documented handling of in-house preparations. Facilities that prepare their own medicines need to evidence the licensing and quality control behind that.

Patient rights, consent and information. Informed consent for therapies, clear tariff disclosure, privacy and dignity during treatments — which has specific implications in Panchakarma and massage-based therapies — and a functioning grievance mechanism.

Infection control and hygiene. Linen handling, treatment table and equipment disinfection between patients, oil and material handling, water quality in wet treatment areas, and waste disposal including biomedical waste where applicable.

Facility management and safety. Fire safety, electrical safety, emergency preparedness and equipment maintenance. NABH’s fire safety requirements for healthcare organisations are keyed to building height and aligned with the National Building Code of India.

Quality improvement. Indicators, incident reporting, audits and demonstrated improvement over time. As with allopathic accreditation, indicator data needs history — it cannot be assembled retrospectively.

Human resources and records. Staffing adequacy, training records, and medical records that are complete, retrievable, confidential and retained for the required period.