Eight government medical institutions, including three city hospitals, will be covered under the hospital management system (HMS) in the first leg of the third phase of the health management information system (HMIS).
Officials of Tamil Nadu health systems project (TNHSP) said HMS, which will involve computerisation of patient records, would be implemented shortly at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GGH), Stanley Medical College Hospital, Government Royapettah Hospital, and at the government medical college hospitals in Vellore, Theni, Madurai and Thanjavur, and at Raja Mirasdar Government Hospital, Thanjavur.
The remaining 37 institutions under the directorate of medical education will be covered in the next phases. A total of Rs. 150 crore had been allotted for the HMIS, of which Rs. 52 crore is for the third phase.
There are four components under HMIS — HMS, management information system (MIS), college management system (CMS) and university automation system (UAS). TCS has developed the software for HMIS. “In the first phase, MIS was implemented in all the primary health centres in the State, through the internet. Details of the number of patients, antenatal mothers checked, minor surgeries conducted, children immunised and public health activities are sent as reports online,” said S.K. Thirunavukkarasu, deputy director of HMIS, TNHSP.
In the second phase, secondary-care institutions — district-headquarter hospitals, taluk and non-taluk hospitals — were covered under HMS.
“We have covered a total of 267 hospitals in the second phase, which commenced in November 2008 and was completed in July 2013,” he said.
MIS, which includes computerisation of employee data, is in place in PHCs, secondary-care centres and medical college hospitals.
“With HMS, the difference is, it has a dedicated intranet line from the Tamil Nadu Statewide area network. All patient records will be computerised on this secure line,” the official said.
Patients will be given an identification number in the out-patient department. Doctors will be able to make an entry in the system for the prescription of medicines. At the pharmacy, the patient will receive a print with details of the dosage of medicines, name of doctor consulted and date of review.
Health minister C. Vijaya Baskar launched the third phase at GGH recently.
