The first phase of the initiative will begin by making available patients’ medical history online. The in-house programme has been built with the aim of making available instantly, anytime, anywhere medical information and records of patients coming to the Institute.
“In the first phase of the project, besides providing online information about patients we will make available facilities to doctors allowing them to make faster and more informed decisions without costly delays. And if all goes as planned within the next two years, this institution will be a near paperless medical research centre,” said Manoj Singh, a senior faculty member.
“This online registration will not allow duplication of registration in the case of patients availing themselves of multiple facilities at the hospital and will also give doctors up-to-date information about patients no matter where they are transferred. Instant, reliable information translating into a smoother hospital stay and more importantly, improved care is the ultimate goal of this environment, patient and medical staff-friendly change.”
The hospital has automated one of its centres by starting registration of new cases online. At the cancer centre, old medical records are being entered and soon all basic information about patients including the final diagnosis will be available online.
“Later, based on the success of this module, old cases in the form of re-visits will be entered, and in-patient admission, billing including the charges of various investigations will be automated. The software for the process has been developed in-house,” Dr. Singh said.
“What we are talking about is using advanced digital and wireless technology leading to a near-paperless environment, with electronic health records, electronic patient tracking, wireless barcode medication charting, use of digital images across the hospital and many other innovations.”
The facility will also provide immediate access to a patient’s complete health records including lists of prescriptions and allergies that can help prevent medical errors, improve patient safety and avoid duplicate tests and other procedures. The system can deliver alerts that warn physicians about drug-drug interactions or suggest best practices for a patient with a specific condition.
In the next phase of the programme, all laboratories, radiological appointment and reporting, in-patient information and its notes will be linked using add-on programme modules.
According to a hospital official, this initiative will later implement even more innovations including digital display technologies for patients, digital radiology stations, digital patient record system, broadband networking, remote picture archiving, digital consultation station, wireless communication technologies, mobile telemedicine units and call centres for patients’ relatives and web-based registration facilitates for remote registration and telemedicine consultation for treatment follow-ups for cancer patients.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Bindu Shajan Perappadan
Quelle/Source: The Hindu, 02.08.2007
