The government of Delhi is setting up a cloud-based integrated health information management system across its hospitals.

The Rs 13.9 billion ($18.9 million) project has been recently approved by the city government's cabinet; a contract to develop the system has been awarded to IT provider NEC Corporation India.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

According to a news report, the HIMS project will see all hospitals in the national capital territory connected under one digital platform. The cloud-based system will include all patient care-related services, such as hospital administration, budgeting and planning, supply chain management, back-end service and other processes. 

Digital health cards will also be created for "seamless information exchange" with the HIMS. The QR code-based eHealth cards will provide citizens of Delhi with access to health information and immediate care. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Through the HIMS, the Delhi health system can be informed of the number of available beds, medicines and vacant ventilators across the territory's hospitals. The system, which also features a doctor consultation booking mechanism for patients, can help reduce long queues at hospitals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the system is expected to be launched in mid-2022; it will be initially rolled out in all government hospitals before it can be introduced to private health institutions in a phased manner. Meanwhile, the digital health cards will be distributed through a door-to-door campaign, the news report noted.

As part of the project, nearly 7,000 new beds will be set up over the next six months in public hospitals across Delhi. 

THE LARGER TREND

The National Health Authority of India is currently working on its Unified Health Interface project which will create an open, interoperable platform connecting digital health solutions. The open network will enable patients and healthcare providers to discover, book, pay and fulfil various digital health services, like teleconsultations, across applications. At present, patients and healthcare providers are using the same applications to avail of and provide digital health services, respectively.