Kochi: The e-health program that has been envisaged in Kerala is expected to make substantial changes to the health sector. It is believed that the initiative would be much more useful to the people than the e-office project of the government which was implemented under the e-governance initiative. The e-health program is not available in any other state as of now.
The e-office program had migrated files to the digital space and along with electronic signatures and other facilities, allowed keeping track of files online and managing them electronically. The same procedure would apply to the e-health program.
The project, to be implemented in association with the IT mission, is expected to cost about Rs 96 crore and 90 per cent of the cost would be borne by the central government. The program is believed to be in its last phases and doctors are also being trained for it.
The program, to be implemented in government hospitals, would give a unique ID for each patient. The ID can be used to track the comprehensive medical history of the patient from the cloud in a few seconds. Access to such a database would also allow officials to keep track of diseases that are prevalent at a particular place at a particular time. This would help control contagious diseases and also spread location-specific awareness programs. It is also expected that the move would help in the timely dispersal of medical reimbursements.
The program would also offer detailed training for doctors, nurses and paramedical staff. It is believed that the program would take many years to be effective considering its scope. The program also envisages computerization of medical colleges.
The setting up of the infrastructure and data collection would be potential business opportunities for those interested.
