The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry is mulling over centralising medical history of patients for easy access of hospitals and laboratories through a new platform called the National eHealth Authority (NeHA). The initiative will allow healthcare professionals access to complete and accurate health history for better diagnosis and treatment without compromising on patient confidentiality.
In the concept note circulated, the Ministry pointed out that a major challenge faced by people is when they visit a healthcare provider for examination and undergo some tests, and the care provider initiates a treatment plan, they need to carry the whole history for their next visit.
“If there is a subsequent need to visit another healthcare provider either within the same care setting or, as is more often than not, a different one, he/she is likely to undergo the same process of repeating examination, testing and treatment unless and until he carries around his medical records diligently irrespective of its size or form,” the Ministry noted.
Like the information systems developed by private hospitals, the government too wants to create a platform for information saving that will allow continuity of care. The Ministry says the initiative will help meet the challenges posed by the acute shortage of physicians and quality paramedics. As per the government data, there are seven doctors per 10,000 population, way below the WHO recommendation of 23 per 10,000 population in rural areas.
