BENGALURU: Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) has become the first government hospital in Karnataka to execute the Central government’s e-hospital project, the first round of implementation for which started last week. The project aims at integrating and managing all aspects of a hospital’s operations such as medical, financial, administrative, legal and compliance, health records online.
“This system will also ensure that people coming from rural areas across the state need not wait for hours or struggle with losing files,” said Dr C Ramachandra, Director, KMIO.
How will it work?
E-hospital Kidwai will register the patient in the hospital system at the OPD (out patient department) on entering. A patient identification number and a patient-specific barcode will be generated, after which the patient will be given a ‘health card’. At the electronic queue management centre, they will be issued a token which will tell them where to go and which doctor to see.
A senior doctor from KMIO explained that a doctor will scan the patient’s barcode to receive information about the patient, such as medical history, allergies, and demographic data. After the consultation, he will then enter the diagnosis, prescription, and any further tests which should be taken into the system. “For instance, if you were to take a blood test, then you would be directed to the lab and the technician will have already received information about you. The blood sample will then be labelled with a barcode, enabling the technician to retrieve vital information before recording the test results,” he explained.
Digital healthcare
A team from Infosys Foundation is helping the doctors at Kidwai to streamline the data and also link the departments.
On the benefits of digital health care, the director said, “It is one of the answers to our disorganized, overcrowded state hospitals, and the inconsistent quality of hospital services. It is also instrumental in managing information more efficiently.”
He explained that it improves connectivity within healthcare institutions, so there is better coordination between healthcare personnel and also recorded data. Individuals from disadvantaged or low-income backgrounds, who do not manage their health due to poverty or lack of awareness, will be able to have the hospitals manage their health for them, he said.
Dr C Ramachandra also added that Kidwai was the first hospital to ensure that the OT was operational even on holidays.