Archive · 27 Aug 2026
ISB Study Finds Digital Health Standards Improve Hospital Operations
A study looked at 20 hospitals that adopted digital health standards.
The hospitals said their records and daily work became better organized.
Digital records also made information easier to find across departments.
Some hospitals reported faster discharges and reporting.
One hospital said its lost revenue fell from 33 per cent to 7 per cent.
However, this result came from just one hospital.
Training staff and changing how people worked were the hardest parts.
Smaller and speciality hospitals often had fewer resources for the change.
Researchers said the standards should be adapted to each hospital rather than applied in exactly the same way.
A study of 20 hospitals found better documentation, smoother operations and stronger digital systems after digital health certification.
Hospitals rated the overall value of the standards 4.62 out of five.
Reported improvements included easier access to digital records, smoother discharges and reporting, and shorter waiting times.
Staff training and behavioural change were the biggest challenges, cited by 84.6 per cent of hospitals.
Researchers cautioned that findings largely came from early adopters and relied substantially on self-reported outcomes.
- Who
- The Max Institute of Healthcare Management at the Indian School of Business conducted the study, led by Sandeep Rath, with findings from 20 hospitals.
- What
- The study assessed changes after hospitals completed digital health certification under the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers’ digital health standards.
- When
- The articles do not specify when the study was conducted.
- Where
- The study covered hospitals in metro and non-metro locations; the report was presented from Hyderabad.
- Why
- The study examined how digital health standards affected hospital documentation, operations, digital systems and implementation challenges.
Reported Benefits
Study Cautions
Hospital performance
Reported Benefits
Hospitals reported better documentation, smoother operations, easier access to records, and improvements in discharge and reporting processes.
Study Cautions
The findings largely reflected early-adopting hospitals and relied substantially on self-reported outcomes rather than independent audits.
Financial impact
Reported Benefits
One hospital reported that revenue leakage fell from 33 per cent to 7 per cent after adopting the standards.
Study Cautions
The study said this was an individual hospital experience and should not be applied to all hospitals.
Implementation model
Reported Benefits
The standards helped make rapid healthcare digitisation more systematic.
Study Cautions
Researchers said the standards work best when adapted to hospitals’ existing capabilities, especially because smaller and speciality hospitals face greater resource constraints.
- Study organization
- Max Institute of Healthcare Management at the Indian School of Business
- Hospitals assessed
- 20 hospitals of different sizes in metro and non-metro locations
- Overall standards rating
- 4.62 out of five
- Data privacy rating
- 4.56 out of five
- Documentation quality rating
- 4.56 out of five
- Operational efficiency rating
- 4.38 out of five
- Major implementation challenge
- Staff training and behavioural change, cited by 84.6 per cent of hospitals
- Workflow redesign challenge
- 65.4 per cent of hospitals identified workflow and process redesign as a major effort