NEW DELHI: In a move towards digitising healthcare infrastructure, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is set to go paperless with its patient records. A proposal to approve the formation of a dedicated panel for the digitisation of all patient data was approved on Monday.
Officials said the move aims to streamline data access, reduce manual effort, and improve overall efficiency in the handling of patient records. Once implemented, the entire case history of a patient will be retrievable with a single click by entering their registration number into the system—eliminating the need to store and manage bulky physical files.
“Currently, much time and effort are spent locating and transporting patient files, which are kept physically in record rooms, especially for those undergoing long-term or critical treatment. This often causes inconvenience to both medical staff and patients. Besides, there is always the risk of losing these files to accidents like fire mishaps. The proposed move will ease this burden for both the hospital and patients,” a senior official commented.
The committee, constituted by AIIMS Director M. Srinivas, will have an 18-member panel to plan and execute the transition. Officials said the panel includes doctors from AIIMS, IT experts, and representatives from key national bodies such as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS).
“The committee has been tasked with preparing a detailed blueprint for the digital transformation and completing the tendering process within the next three months,” the senior official added.
While some digital systems are already in place—such as OPD registrations, appointments, laboratory test reports, and discharge summaries—access to certain diagnostic results, including CT scans and MRIs, remains unavailable online. Officials said the new digitisation initiative would address these gaps and make all patient-related information available digitally.