NEW DELHI: Months after the launch of its Patient Care Dashboard, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi is yet to deliver on a critical component of the system — real-time updates on waiting periods for treatment services and inpatient admissions.
Despite a directive issued over three months back, patients continue to remain in the dark about how long they may have to wait for treatment in specific departments. The dashboard, which was introduced for patient transparency, currently offers limited utility.
The dashboard displays data such as bed availability in emergency and trauma centres, number of OPD visitors, emergency cases handled, test statuses, and the availability of accommodations at AIIMS-run dharamshalas. However, it lacks one of its most crucial features: real-time information about waiting periods for surgeries, inpatient department (IPD) admissions, diagnostics and other services.
On March 29, AIIMS Director stated that the dashboard should allow patients to access comprehensive data about expected waiting periods for services such as bed allocation in general and private wards, daycare treatment, surgeries, imaging services like X-rays and MRIs, and lab investigations. The objective was to inform patients in advance about what to expect, enabling them to plan their visits and admissions accordingly.
However, the direction is yet to be fully implemented. A fresh office memorandum has highlighted the delay in execution and directed departments to begin uploading real-time figures of patient queues and waiting times.
“To further augment the said dashboards, it is desired that a time stamp be displayed on all pages and in cases where the data is being fetched on real-time basis... Also, department-wise statistics should be displayed for all Departments in a tabulated form with absolute numbers and not just in percentage,” read a copy of the latest order.
While the move had raised hopes of improving patients’ experience, incomplete implementation is drawing criticism.