Ahead of Covid-19 third wave, Delhi govt announces Rs 139-cr project to digitise healthcare sector, add 7,000 new hospital beds

Delhi: On Saturday, the Delhi government announced a Rs 139-crore project in a bid to digitise healthcare management in the national capital. It will enable hospital-patient interactions in the city via cloud-based integrated management and digital health cards. The Delhi cabinet has approved the budget and funds have also been sanctioned to set up the ‘health information management system’. The contracts have been sent out to M/s NEC Corporation India Private Limited.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also confirmed approval regarding the setting up of 6,836 new beds across Delhi government hospitals. “This is a huge increase in the city’s health infrastructure. Today, Delhi has 10,000 beds in government hospitals and 6,800 are being added. This is a 70 per cent increase, and not a small thing. These beds will be ready in six months. We are prepared for the COVID third wave if it comes. Even if it doesn’t happen, these beds will be ready for Delhi people,” he quoted as saying in The Indian Express.

The system is expected to be ready by mid-22 if Delhi government officials are to be believed. It will, however, be implemented in government hospitals first and then private hospitals in a phased manner.

All the Delhi hospitals will be connected on a common platform in this system. That portal will help inform us about the bed availability (how many beds are empty), medicines availability (how many medicines and in what quantity). The portal will also help inform staff position, medical position, number of ventilators that are vacant. You will no longer need to form long queues at the hospitals. All you would need to do is to fix an appointment with a doctor over the phone and choose to visit in accordance to your convenience, said Delhi CM as reported in IE.

The system would be all digital and cloud-based. Citizens will be connected to it via ‘e-Health Cards’. These cards will be issued and be availed online for access. The card will help people get all information under one roof and will also help in providing immediate help in case of emergency.

“Under the Health Card Project, QR code-based eHealth Cards will be issued to the residents on the basis of voter ID and population registry from which demographic and basic clinical information of each patient can be taken out. Family mapping will be done through e-health cards for health schemes and programmes. It will be integrated with HIMS for seamless information exchange. Cards with QR codes will be distributed to each person after physical verification,” read a government statement as reported in the IE.