Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) are a set of uniform standards envisaged to improve the quality of healthcare delivery at all public healthcare facilities. These standards are used as a reference point for public healthcare infrastructure planning and upgradation and to ensure achieving quality healthcare delivery. Since their first publication, these standards have been revised to incorporate new initiatives, like Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness Centers and Urban Primary Health Centers. In the year 2022, IPHS guidelines were further revised.

NHM, MoHFW, and New Delhi have given mandatory conditionality to all states to make at least 50% of health facilities IPHS compliant by the end of the year 2025. To assess the current IPHS compliance status of healthcare facilities, an ODK tool was developed by NHSRC with technical support from Norway India Partnership Initiatives (NIPI). An orientation meeting was conducted on the 14th of December, 2023, and then facilities started their gap assessment using the ODK tool. Throughout the gap assessment, NIPI provides technical support in gap assessment and issues related to the ODK tool, and also provides the gap assessment completion status on a daily basis.     

In order to review the ongoing gap assessment and to support in filling up the gaps, a review-cum-planning meeting was planned under the chairmanship of the State Program Officer- Health System Strengthening, State Health Society, Bihar, on the 1st of August 2024. 

Total 84 participants - from regional level, district health society and hospital managers attended the meeting. Status of ongoing gap assessment was reviewed and SPO-HSS instructed the districts to increase the pace of gap assessment and complete all the facility assessment by 30th of August 2024.  By 1st August 2024, out of 11,151 public health care facilities 5,722 facilities had completed their gap assessment. 

In his presentation, the State Team lead-NIPI, Bihar, discussed preparing a work plan to fill the gaps. A district hospital-wise factsheet was also provided, with emphasis on filling the gaps in terms of governance, drugs, diagnostics, service provision, HR, and Infrastructure. 

To ensure proper planning, the District planning coordinator was also asked to participate in the meeting so that they could incorporate their work plan in their next DHAP.  Discussions were also done to review the gap assessments dashboard and to prepare an action plan accordingly to strengthen the areas which need improvement in order to ensure fulfilment of the criteria for IPHS-2022 compliance.