With all patient information to be centralised and made accessible over a large network of hospitals and laboratories, life will soon become much easier for the patients in government hospitals.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is all set to bring in the National e-Health Authority (NeHA), for which the officials have already prepared a concept note.
It will shortly be given the final contours.
“One of the major challenges faced by patients in India today is that whenever he visits any healthcare provider he is typically subjected to a certain number of tests before the care provider initiates a treatment plan for his/her condition.
"If a visit is required to another healthcare provider for either the same or another care setting, the patient is likely to be put through the same process of examination, testing and treatment unless s/he diligently carries around his medical records,” said Jitendra Arora, director of the e-governance division in Health Ministry.
“With NeHA, a patient visiting another doctor wouldn’t need to undergo tests again or fill lengthy forms regarding their health information or addresses as the information will be readily available with the respective hospitals. We are also trying to rope in private hospitals. Once we get feedback from all stakeholders, we will forward the proposal for approval and implementation,” he added.
The NeHA will be an integrated health information system. It will also help avoid problems arising out of uncoordinated induction of IT systems in hospitals and public health systems.
It will also enforce the laws and regulations relating to the privacy and security of patients’ health information and records.
There would be a provision of Electronic Health Records (EHR) of patients.
“EHRs help doctors and hospitals to better manage care for patients by providing accurate, up-to-date and complete information, access patient records quickly for more efficient care and share electronic information securely with patients and other clinicians,” Arora said.
“The system will also reduce medical errors, promote legible and complete documentation, coding and billing and improve productivity,” he said.
The ministry is looking for the patients to benefit in terms of diagnostic accuracy, reduced waiting time and greater satisfaction with services.
Given the growing penetration of mobile phones and Internet, SMS-based services, live and asynchronous telemedicine and interactive voice response service (IVRS) are among the other services being looked at.
Currently, the Indian healthcare system services a diverse population of approximately 1.24 billion across a wide range of geographic and socio-economic settings. The services are provided by a complex network of public and private care providers.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Neetu Chandra Sharma
Quelle/Source: Daily Mail, 22.03.2015
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