Computerization of AIIMS yet to take off 

The game plan for the computerization of the biggest medical institute of the country is yet to take off. The plan which had been in making for the past 20 years, had received a boost last year with the AIIMS appointing an IT consultant to draw the blueprint for computerization of the patient care system. 

The IT consultant, Birlasoft, will be submitting its report on April 1. "But the report is only a Business Process Reengineering document, which would take another four months or more to implement," said Dr RS Tyagi, Deputy Director and Head, (Computer Facility),AIIMS. 

Dr Tyagi is however, unhappy with the way the computerization process is heading in the institute. He is of the opinion that there should be a uniform policy for all departments for the computerization in the institute and also that the State should also take the lead in the process. Dr Tyagi has submitted a new model for approval for the computerization of AIIMS. The model proposes around 25 referral centers in different regions across Delhi, which would serve, as nodal centers for the computerized registration for AIIMS. These nodal centers would be connected to an enterprise wide server, which will be located at AIIMS. The nodal centers could also be connected to the 500 and odd Primary Health Centers (PHCs) across the state also.

"This geographical distribution of the centers and their online connection to the main center, would largely reduce the huge crowds that throng AIIMS from around five in the morning for procuring the consultation cards and the associated malpractices with it," said Tyagi. The next registration for the subsequent tests, which will be, conducted in these referral centers itself would drastically cut down the congestion in AIIMS as well as the running around done by patients. "In addition to this, the early registration would let the institute know what type of patients would be visiting the institute at particular point of time, which would subsequently lead to the creation of a database of patients," he added.

These centers can act as the test collection centers as well as centers for X-ray. The proposal has been placed for action before the institute authorities, Delhi government as well as the Central government in last December, informed Dr Tyagi.

He also proposes to meet the Minister of Health on this account within this month. 

The registration cost for a single patient would come down to as low as Rs 50 per person and to Rs 10 per person for further transactions, if this is implemented, commented Dr Tyagi. He elaborated, "The estimated expenditure of Rs 500 crore for the initial five years of this project would be recovered within one and a half years of the implementation of the proposal." He said that the proposal aims at getting an income of Rs 700 crore in the first three years, taking into account the number of patients visiting AIIMS. This would include the expenditure of land, building and personnel. He proposed that the networking of the database of AIIMS with similar data from other state capitals would further value add the information and expertise sharing. 

Dr Tyagi also informed that the computer facility has tied up with the Ahmedabad based Telemedicine Research Institute to develop a gadget, wherein the patient can apprise the doctor of his latest ECG reports as well as BP and blood sugar rates through a wireless phone. The data thus transmitted would directly be fed into the computer, thus providing an opportunity for the doctor to provide treatment without the person being travelling large distances. This would especially be helpful to the monitoring of the postoperative patients, he explained.

Another proposal that is in the pipeline is the establishment of the National Virtual University of AIIMS over the Net. The AIIMS, which does not require approval for its courses from the AICTE, proposes to provide the degrees for which the practical is not needed, through the Web. The theoretical courses may include nursing courses, Pharmaceutical courses, courses in Hygiene, Mass education etc. AIIMS has applied to Medical Council of India (MCI) for the approval of the courses that would be undertaken so. It also intends to provide other health-related courses in other colleges through this virtual university. 

The proposed Center for Bio informatics, which will be implemented as part of the 10th plan, would come into existence by the beginning of next year, thus showcasing another implementation of IT in health care. The eligibility for the two-year diploma as well as three-year degree courses offered by the center would be a bachelor degree either in IT or Medicine.