The Department of Health, Medical, and Family Welfare on Monday (July 27, 2026) introduced a new system to evaluate the performance of a Primary Health Centre, which is designed to measure health outcomes.According to a press release, under the present system, a PHC is assessed on the basis of five indicators: the number of outpatient (OP) visits, inpatient admissions, laboratory tests, deliveries, and the use of contraceptive services.Officials found that the system failed to reflect crucial health outcomes such as disease prevention, maternal and child health, chronic disease management, and continuity of patient care.To evaluate whether healthcare services have improved public health, the department is introducing a new grading system based on 21 key performance indicators, which include teenage pregnancies registered within a PHC’s jurisdiction, registration of high-risk pregnancies, quality of antenatal care, institutional deliveries in government hospitals, Caesarean section rates, total fertility rate, maternal mortality control, among others.The assessment will also consider behaviour of doctors and staff, hospital cleanliness, waiting time, availability of medicines, periodic follow-up medical examinations, timely referral of suspected cancer patients to higher medical institutions, detection of congenital disorders, identification of malnutrition, among others.In a statement, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav said the objective is to make the rural healthcare system more accountable, outcome-oriented, and accessible to the public. According to the release, each of the 21 indicators will carry a maximum of one point.Health Secretary and Health and Family Welfare Commissioner G. Veerapandian said publishing monthly rankings would enable the department to quickly identify underperforming PHCs, address deficiencies, and improve service delivery. Published - July 27, 2026 08:39 pm IST