Government hospitals will soon do away with paperwork for maintaining patient records. A hospital information system that is all set to be launched at government hospitals across the State will computerise patient details starting from the point of entry till prescription of medicines.
Officials of the health department said all 45 hospitals under the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) are being covered.
The information system has been on trial at Government Maternity Hospital, Egmore, and Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children, Triplicane.
“Following successful trials, the system has been extended to other hospitals too. When a patient enters a hospital, he/she will be given a patient identification number. After the patient consults a doctor, details of symptoms, diagnosis and laboratory investigations required will be entered,” an official said.
Once the tests are done, the results will be uploaded. The doctor will then prescribe medications, and these details will also be uploaded.
When a patient reaches the pharmacy, the pharmacist will be able to use the identification number and view on the computer the medicines that have been prescribed by the doctor, he said, adding, “Initially, details of out-patients are being computerised, and will be expanded later. This will reduce the amount of paperwork that goes into maintaining patient records. It also facilitates easy retrieval of data.”
This is a centralised system and patients could access their records at any government hospital across the State, he added. The software was ready and the system would be launched shortly, officials said.
Employee records computerisedRecords of employees, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, lab technicians and sanitary workers, have also been computerised.
“There are 96 institutions under the DME, including hospitals, medical colleges, and a dental college, with a total of 35,000 employees. So far, their records containing date of birth, qualification, promotions and other details pertaining to their service are available in hard copies. Now, these details have been computerised under the Hospital Management Information System which will be launched shortly,” he said.
This way, the records, which are crucial for various aspects including promotions and retirement benefits, could be protected from tampering.
Meanwhile, the department will also launch new websites for the 19 government medical colleges in the State.
