A new study by the Max Institute of Healthcare Management at the Indian School of Business (ISB) has found that hospitals adopting the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) Digital Health Standards (DHS) have reported significant improvements in operational efficiency, clinical decision-making and digital maturity.

The findings are detailed in a white paper titled ‘Post-Adoption Value of NABH Digital Health Standards: A Multi-Hospital Assessment in India’, which assesses the real-world impact of digital accreditation across 20 DHS-certified hospitals spanning Silver, Gold and Platinum certification levels.

The study was intentionally weighted towards small and medium-sized hospitals and facilities in non-metro locations to assess the challenges and enablers of digital adoption among resource-constrained healthcare providers. Researchers conducted qualitative interviews with 80 senior stakeholders across hospital leadership, quality, IT, operations and clinical teams, alongside a quantitative survey.

According to the study, hospitals primarily adopted DHS to improve patient care quality (98.1%) and operational efficiency (88.5%), while top-level hospital leadership was the key driver behind adoption decisions in 76.9% of cases.

Following certification, hospitals reported a significant increase in their overall digital maturity, with the average score rising from 3.42 to 4.35 on a five-point scale.

System integration improved from 3.31 to 4.35, while the use of digital records in clinical decision-making increased from 3.00 to 4.37. Hospitals also reported gains in data privacy and documentation quality, both scoring 4.56, followed by operational efficiency at 4.38 and interoperability at 4.29.

The overall value of DHS was rated at 4.62 out of 5 by participating hospitals. In one reported case, a hospital reduced revenue leakage from 33% to 7% following digital transformation.

Researchers found that hospital experiences varied more significantly according to facility size, baseline digital maturity and leadership commitment than geographic location.

The white paper was unveiled at ISB by Ajay Seth, Chairperson, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), in the presence of Chakravarthy Kannan, Secretary General, Quality Council of India and CEO (I/C), NABH; Rizwan Koita, Chairperson, NABH; Professor Sarang Deo, Executive Director, Max Institute of Healthcare Management, ISB; Avinash Pandey, Group Leader, NABH Digital Health; and Sandeep Rath, Assistant Professor of Operations Management, ISB, among other stakeholders.

Ajay Seth said digital health standards should serve as a foundation for improving the availability, accessibility and affordability of healthcare rather than becoming a compliance exercise.

Rizwan Koita, Chairperson, NABH, said digital health and AI have become essential components of strengthening healthcare delivery. He noted that the study provides insights into how digital health standards can help hospitals improve processes, efficiency, quality and patient care, while encouraging healthcare providers to build more connected and patient-centric systems.

Sandeep Rath, lead author and Assistant Professor of Operations Management at ISB, said the measurable gains reported by hospitals—including improved documentation, shorter discharge and waiting times and reduced revenue leakage—were aligned with the primary reasons hospitals adopted the standards.