All You Need to Know About Health Facility Registries

Posted on: Mar 27, 2024 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

All You Need to Know About Health Facility Registries

Health facility registries (HFR) are the comprehensive database of vital information related to healthcare facilities. With digital transformation crawling into almost every industry, having a health facility registry has become necessary for the healthcare industry. This tool collects, manages, and distributes information about a particular area's health facilities across its modern and traditional medical systems.

This guide will provide insights into health facility registries, benefits, key features, and how to register on HFR.

Why Should You Care About Health Facility Registries?

HFR assist in healthcare-related planning, research and administration tasks. You need to care about HFR because it gives you an overview of public and private healthcare facilities, clinics, diagnostic labs, imaging centres, and pharmacies in a specific geographical region.

Its primary aim is to allow people to access updated healthcare information at a national level and in real-time. Keeping these records updated and organised ensures better health practices, healthcare policy improvements, and participation.

What Exactly Are Health Facility Registries?

HFR is the data repository of medical facilities and services nationwide. This data can be accessed by anyone who is registered for HFR and can make major changes in the healthcare industry. Firstly, this data can assist you in healthcare planning and then improve existing medical practices and policies.

Such an HFR illustrates the full picture of the country's current healthcare infrastructure and services at a national level using GIS (Geographic Information System). It includes details from private to public hospitals, laboratories, clinics, blood banks, imaging centres, pharmacies, and other health service providers. Such data is vital during emergencies as people can quickly locate health facilities during a crisis.

Some of the common healthcare services categories covered include:

• Dentistry

• Allopathy (modern medicine)

• Physiotherapy

• Ayurveda

• Homeopathy

• Unani

• Siddha

• Sowa-Rigpa

Why are Comprehensive Registries So Important for Health Systems?

There are several reasons why comprehensive registries are needed in health systems. Following are some of them

Proper distribution of healthcare facilities

When you have a clear picture of health infrastructure and service facility gaps, you can plan to bridge them efficiently. Authorities and policymakers can use this data to allocate medical resources properly across the country. The HFR can come in handy when patients file for health insurance or critical illness insurance from an insurance company and in faster disbursement of the claim.

Assist in research work

Medical researchers can use health facility registries to understand different trends and disease patterns. It can further help conduct multiple studies, evaluate interventions, and improve healthcare practices.

Streamlining regulations

This healthcare data provides regulators and policymakers with a clear view of how the medicalcare industry complies with the regulations. This includes maintaining quality measures, fulfilling licensing requirements, and ensuring compliance with healthcare standards.

Understanding public health needs

These registries provide details on the health facility requirements in particular communities. It allows public health agencies to understand what is lacking and how to allocate healthcare facility resources to people during emergencies.

What Are Some Key Features of Effective Health Facility Registries?

Some of the key features of effective health facility registries are listed below.

Comprehensive details

HFR must keep comprehensive details of healthcare facilities and services across private and public sectors within a particular geographical range.

Have unique IDs

Every facility must have a unique ID so that there is no duplicate data stored on the registry and allow linking them with different health data sources.

Interoperability

These registries must be designed so that you can integrate and share valuable data with different health information systems wherever needed.

Regulated accessibility

To maintain data security, these systems must have regulated accessibility where only authorised people can access the data.

Regular verification and updating of data

The registry needs to be regularly verified and updated so that changes happening in the health industry get updated on the system. This ensures everyone stays informed about the changes and can take immediate action whenever needed.

Maintaining data standards

The data collection process of the system must follow the necessary regulations and standards to ensure comparability.

How to Register for Health Facility Registries

Anyone providing healthcare facilities can register for HFR by following a few steps.

Let us follow a few steps to register a healthcare unit under HRF.

• Visit the website for HPR and click on the button for Login or Registration.

• Generate your HPID (Healthcare Professional ID) by selecting the new registered option and logging in to the site using that ID and password.

• On the user dashboard, you will have two options: facility manager or Nodal officer/verifier, and you need to select the facility manager option.

• Then click the 'Search and Register Facility" button on the next page.

• Fill out the registration form thoroughly, including facility name, address, geographical location, contacts, etc., and submit the form.

• After verification by the state government and UT administration, you can access the HFR.

Documents Required for Health Facility Registries

When you submit the application for registration on HFRs, you need to provide several documents. They are proof of your eligibility to register on such an essential healthcare tool in the country. Check the document list:

• License and credentials of your facility

• List of healthcare services

• Staff licenses and certifications

• Floor plan along with bed capacity

• Quality and safety documents (like inspection reports)

• Business registration papers

• Ownership, management and contact details

• Insurance credentials (like individual health insurance or mediclaim policy)

• Infection control and sanitation protocols

• Medical equipment inventory

• Language accessibility services

Conclusion

Health facility Registries are vital resources that map a country's available healthcare resources and capacity to meet emergencies. This data helps in planning, facility management, and performance improvement of healthcare providers and institutions.

This system works as the backbone of the health industry to meet the changing medical demands of the increasing population, improving the quality of services and maintaining safety protocols.

Faqs

1. What is HFR registration?

HFR registration is enrolling your healthcare institution into Health Facility Registries that provide comprehensive information about your facilities and services, including name, geographical locations, contact details, accreditation status, and other essential details.

2. What is an HFR code?

An HFR code is a unique identifier provided to each healthcare facility enrolling on the health facility registries. It is a standardised reference for each facility, allowing interoperability, better data management, and communication across healthcare systems.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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