COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) has successfully integrated its own laboratory and blood bank data into the Lab Management Information System (LMIS), a part of the State's Health Management Information System (HMIS).
The system has around 200 laboratory and blood sample data required for medical services, making the entire process paperless and efficient. This advancement provides significant relief to both patients and doctors by delivering test results within 20 minutes to a maximum of two hours.
"Patients who previously waited days for test results can now receive them in just hours. We have incorporated all lab and blood bank-related data for inpatients, and we are working to extend these services to outpatients. This allows us to initiate major surgeries without delay." Dr A Nirmala, Dean of Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), said.
While the government has been conducting trials with the Health Management Information System (HMIS) at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, CMCH has effectively revived it for its own laboratory operations. HMIS had been in use at CMCH for outpatient entries for several years, but was left unused during the pandemic and has now been re-launched more effectively to coordinate laboratory and blood test results, sources said.
They added that when a blood sample is submitted to the laboratory, a barcode is generated using the patient's admission number. Once tests are complete, the server receives reports.
After approval from technicians, the medical team accesses results digitally. If needed, the report can be printed, reducing handwritten notes and paperwork. Since the report is available with a government emblem, it is considered authentic and can be accessed any time, making it useful in cases of emergency.
Dr N Selvaraj, Associate Professor in the Surgical Oncology department and the nodal officer for this project, said that 31 departments rely on lab test results and are now connected to this network. They receive results from the laboratories in pathology, microbiology, biochemistry, and the blood bank.
"The system has been coordinating around 1,800 test reports for samples from approximately 800 patients in a day, including those from Primary Health Centres (PHCs). By connecting all departments, doctors can easily begin their procedures. We have trained around 700 staff members, including nurses, house surgeons, doctors, and technicians, to use the system, and it has proven beneficial for the entire hospital as it manages about 98% of lab data," said Dr Selvaraj.