NABH Digital Health Accreditation Programme
NABH Digital Health Standards for HIS/EMR Systems
Traditional patient registration and appointment processes involved manual paperwork, long waiting queues, repeated visits to registration counters, and delays in accessing reports and follow-up services.
Patients often experienced inconvenience in scheduling appointments, making payments, and retrieving medical records, resulting in increased waiting times and administrative workload.
To enhance patient convenience and streamline front-office operations, Narayana Health implemented a combination of the NH Care App, Kiosks, and IP Companion Bot.
Objectives
• Reduce patient waiting time at registration counters.
• Increase digital registration and appointment booking.
• Improve patient access to healthcare services.
• Enable self-service for routine transactions.
• Reduce administrative workload.
• Enhance continuity of care through digital engagement.
Key Features – NH Care App
• Online appointment booking
• Digital medical records
• Laboratory & radiology reports
• Electronic prescriptions
• Online bill payment
• Appointment reminders & follow-up scheduling
Key Features – Kiosk
• Self-registration
• Appointment check-in
• Bill payment
Key Features – IP Companion Bot
• Raise incidents and complaints during IP stay
Implementation Strategy
A structured, phased rollout.
Training Coverage
100% of front office executives, patient relationship officers, helpdesk staff, and IT support teams were trained before implementation.
Support Model
Dedicated front office team and Digital Adoption Team providing on-site patient assistance, kiosk support, technical troubleshooting, and continuous monitoring.
Adoption Rate
Kiosk + NH Care App usage has increased from 13% to 80%, and IP Bot usage has increased from 200 incidents to 2,500 incidents.
Operational Improvements
• Significant reduction in registration waiting time.
• Increased digital appointment bookings through the NH Care App.
• Higher utilization of self-service kiosks for registration and payments.
• Reduced congestion at front-office counters.
• Improved patient convenience through contactless services.
• Faster patient check-in.
• Enhanced accessibility to laboratory reports and prescriptions.
• Improved patient engagement through digital reminders.
• Enhanced patient satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Achieved a substantial increase in digital adoption, boosting Kiosk and NH Care App usage from 13% in FY 23–24 to 80% in FY 25–26, and IP Bot incidents from 200 in April 2025 to 2,500 incidents in April 2026.
The initiative aligns with NABH Digital Health Standards by supporting:
• Digital patient registration
• Electronic Medical Records (EMR)
• Patient digital engagement
• Self-service healthcare delivery
• Digital billing and payments
• Data privacy and cybersecurity
• Interoperability with HIS, LIS, RIS, Pharmacy, and Billing systems
• Continuity of care and patient empowerment
Key Enablers
• Leadership commitment towards digital transformation.
• Seamless integration with HIS and EMR.
• User-friendly mobile application and kiosk interface.
• Reliable IT infrastructure and network connectivity.
• Dedicated digital support team.
• Continuous monitoring through operational dashboards.
• Strong collaboration between IT, Operations, and Quality teams.
Challenges
• Initial patient hesitation in using self-service technologies.
• Digital literacy among elderly patients.
• Ensuring uninterrupted connectivity.
• Ongoing maintenance and software updates.
• Continuous patient education to increase digital adoption.
• Introduce digital self-service gradually with on-site assistance.
• Keep kiosk and mobile interfaces simple.
• Promote digital adoption through staff guidance.
• Monitor utilization using dashboards and improve workflows based on data.
• Ensure strong integration between mobile applications, kiosks, and hospital systems.
• Continuously gather patient feedback to improve the digital experience.
• Continuous optimization of digital platforms, supported by analytics and user insights, is key to sustaining high adoption rates and maximizing operational efficiency.
