BMC’s paperless hospital dream gains steam

Civic-run BYL Nair Hospital is among the hospitals where health cards are being issued. File pic

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's paperless hospital plan or health card project, for which a consultant was appointed in 2016, still remains a dream, as the project almost came to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As per civic officials, the plan will take around two more years to be fully implemented.

After the project was approved in 2018, the BMC started the project on a pilot basis in 2019 which was set to be completed by January 2021. The project started at Kasturba (Chinchpokli), BYL Nair (Mumbai Central), Cooper (Juhu), Bhartratna Dr Babashaeb Ambedkar (Kandivli) and Rajawadi (Ghatkopar) hospitals with few dispensaries.

"Due to the pandemic, the project slowed down but now it's gaining speed again. We are registering 3,000 health cards daily," said Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani, who is head of the civic health department. He added, "We will try to implement this project in full phase as early as possible."

A health card issued by the civic body

According to the official, the system will keep records of patients. BMC will issue health cards to every patient with a unique number which will act as their medical identity. All medical details of the patients will be stored on BMC's server, enabling doctors to get all details of the patients in just one click. This system will help the medical staff as well the patients as they will not have to carry their medical files.

The BMC, which appointed a consultant for this project in August 2016, has spent Rs 21.68 crore as consultancy fees so far. The civic body now plans to extend the consultation period for two more years, which will cost around Rs 9.19 crore. It has also spent around Rs 7 crore to set up computers and other machinery to facilitate the project. The estimated cost of the entire project is Rs 100 crore.

Approximately 1.5 crore patients are treated every year at BMC health centres which includes four major hospitals, 16 peripheral hospitals, five special hospitals, one dental hospital, 28 maternity homes, 161 dispensaries and 188 health posts.