Maharashtra Launches Five-Star Rating System for 623 Government Hospitals

The Maharashtra government has launched a five-star rating system for 623 government hospitals under the state Public Health Department to improve healthcare quality, transparency, and accountability. Introduced through a Government Resolution (GR), the initiative will evaluate hospitals against standardized quality benchmarks, helping citizens compare services while encouraging hospitals to improve care standards.

The framework will cover 623 public health facilities, including district, sub-district, rural, women's, general, referral, trauma care, and Employees' State Insurance (ESI) hospitals. The Public Health Department will conduct assessments twice a year—in January and August—through physical inspections and verification of hospital database records.

Government hospitals across Maharashtra will receive zero to five stars based on their performance across 10 quality indicators grouped under five broad categories. According to the Government Resolution (GR) issued by the Maharashtra Public Health Department, the assessment will cover the availability and responsiveness of healthcare services, access to diagnostic facilities and essential medicines, hospital performance, quality of medical services, and patient amenities and feedback.

"Each hospital will be evaluated on 10 quality indicators, with each indicator carrying half a star. Hospitals meeting all the prescribed benchmarks will receive a five-star rating, while those failing to meet any criterion will receive no stars," the Government Resolution states.

The Public Health Department will conduct assessments twice a year—in January and August—through physical inspections and verification of hospital database records. Hospitals securing four stars or more will receive government recognition certificates for maintaining high standards of healthcare delivery.

The new hospital rating system will assess whether facilities provide at least 80% of specialized services, maintain adequate attendance of doctors and support staff, ensure the availability of essential medicines, and operate functional laboratory, X-ray, and ECG services. The evaluation will also consider outpatient (OPD) attendance, bed occupancy, average monthly deliveries, major surgeries, cleanliness, sanitation, drinking water, patient amenities, and feedback collected through telephonic surveys.

Assessments will be conducted through physical inspections and verification of hospital database records, with hospitals evaluated against category-specific benchmarks.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, an official said, "The star rating system is aimed at establishing uniform quality benchmarks, improving accountability, promoting healthy competition among public hospitals and strengthening public confidence in government healthcare services."

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The initiative will cover 623 government healthcare institutions across Maharashtra, including two referral hospitals, 20 district hospitals, eight general hospitals, 20 women's hospitals, 33 sub-district hospitals, 373 rural hospitals, 78 trauma care centers, and 12 Employees' State Insurance (ESI) hospitals.

The framework will apply across hospitals of different levels, allowing patients to compare services while encouraging healthcare facilities to maintain consistent standards. According to the Government Resolution, the initiative is intended to improve transparency, strengthen accountability, and build public confidence in Maharashtra's public health system.

References:

1. Government of Maharashtra. Government Resolution (GR) Portal. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://gr.maharashtra.gov.in/

2. Maharashtra Public Health Department. Official Website. Government of Maharashtra. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://phd.maharashtra.gov.in/

(Rh/TP/MSM)