New Delhi, Feb. 18 -- To ensure that India's public healthcare services quality standards are not gamed, the health and family welfare ministry has directed all states and Union territories to strengthen the credibility of virtual assessments for National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) certification.

This assumes significance as the Union government has linked this certification to releasing funds under the National Health Mission (NHM).

National Quality Assurance Standards is a set of standards for assessing and certifying the quality of public health facilities in India.

Only around 10% of NQAS-certified facilities in virtual mode undergo physical verification.

To ensure stricter adherence to quality, the Centre has spelt out th...