How to check a hospital and surgeon in India yourself, before you travel

Before you check a hospital in India, it helps to know what you’re checking and why. Accreditation tells you a hospital has been inspected against written standards. A doctor’s registration tells you they’re licensed to practise. Neither guarantees a result, but both are basic, and you can check them yourself in a few minutes.

1. Check the hospital’s accreditation

Two accreditations matter most for hospitals in India:

• JCI (Joint Commission International): an international body that inspects hospitals in many countries against standards for patient safety, infection control, medicines and more. Large hospitals in Delhi such as Medanta, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Indraprastha Apollo and Max Saket hold it.
• NABH: India’s national accreditation board for hospitals, with its own inspection standards. Many more hospitals hold it.

How to check: search for the hospital on JCI’s website and on NABH’s website. Make sure the accreditation covers the specific hospital you’ll be treated at, not just another hospital in the same group, and that it’s current.

2. Check the surgeon’s registration

Doctors in India are registered with a State Medical Council and appear on the Indian Medical Register, which the National Medical Commission lets you search online.

How to check: ask for the surgeon’s full name and registration number, then search the register. The details should match.

3. Ask the questions that matter

Accreditation and registration are the floor, not the ceiling. Before you agree to anything, ask:

1. How many of this operation does the surgeon do each year?
2. What exactly is included in the price? Implant, ICU days, physiotherapy, medicines, follow-up visits.
3. What isn’t included, and what would those things cost?
4. What happens if there’s a complication? Who pays, and how is it handled?
5. How long will I be in hospital, and when can I fly?
6. Which implant or device will be used? Ask for the maker and model.
7. What will my doctor at home receive? Ask for the discharge summary, scans and operation notes in English.
8. Can I speak to the surgeon by video before I decide?

A good hospital answers in writing without fuss.

4. Watch for warning signs

• Pressure to pay a large deposit before you’ve had a written opinion
• Prices that seem far below everyone else’s, with no explanation of what’s left out
• Promises of results, or “success rates” with no source
• No named surgeon, or reluctance to share their registration
• A facilitator who won’t tell you how they’re paid

How we fit in

We’re a facilitator, not a hospital. We work only with accredited hospitals, ask more than one for an opinion where we can, and share the surgeon’s details so you can check them yourself. You pay the hospital directly, and our fee is fixed and separate. How we’re paid explains it.

You can also read the US CDC’s general advice on medical tourism, linked below, which is useful wherever you live.

When you’re ready, send your reports for a free quote. We’ll send the hospital and surgeon details with it, so you can check them before you decide.