Andhra Pradesh is introducing a new rating system to assess the performance of PHCs

The Ministry of Health, Medicine and Family Welfare on Monday (July 27, 2026) introduced a new primary health center performance assessment system designed to measure health outcomes.

According to the press release, in the current system, primary health care is evaluated based on five indicators: number of outpatient (OP) visits, hospitalizations, laboratory tests, births and use of contraceptive services.

Officials found that the system failed to reflect critical health outcomes such as disease prevention, maternal and child health, chronic disease management and continuity of care for patients.

In order to assess whether health services have improved public health, the ministry is introducing a new evaluation system based on 21 key performance indicators, which include, but are not limited to, teenage pregnancies registered in primary health care jurisdictions, high-risk pregnancy registrations, prenatal care quality, institutional births in public hospitals, caesarean section rates, total fertility, maternal mortality control and more.

The assessment will take into account, among other things, the behavior of doctors and staff, cleanliness of the hospital, waiting time, availability of drugs, regular follow-up medical examinations, timely referral of patients with suspected cancer to higher medical facilities, detection of birth defects, identification of malnutrition.

In a statement, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav said the aim is to make the rural health system more accountable, results-oriented and accessible to the public. According to the report, each of the 21 indicators will carry a maximum of one point.

Health Minister and Health and Family Commissioner G. Veerapandian said publishing the monthly rankings will enable the department to quickly identify underperforming primary health care, address gaps and improve service delivery.

Published – 27 Jul 2026 20:39 IST