Question : Maintenance of Digital Records

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has noticed that in the absence of any digital record maintenance system patients have to carry their medical consultancy records/reports in case of changing hospital for treatment and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government has started preparations for keeping the said reports in digital form and setting up a common platform and if so, the details in this regard;

(c) whether the said system is likely to be introduced/implemented in all the States along with the progress made in this regard; and

(d) the manner in which the patients are likely to be benefitted by the said system?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL)
(a)& (b): Yes. A scheme to set up an ‘Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP)’, to maintain the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) of patients in a centralized manner and to be made available nationwide online for medical history, with the help of Health Information Exchange has been approved.

The objective of IHIP is to keep the medical records of the patient in digital form which could be accessed by the patient as well as providers as and when required. IHIP will help exchange of clinical data among providers irrespective of the hospital site visited by the patients.

(c): IHIP will be implemented in a phased manner. In phase I, IHIP will be implemented on a pilot basis in three States & five Central Government Hospitals. On successful implementation of the pilot phase, IHIP will be rolled out pan-India.

(d): With the advent of the envisaged system of EHRs of citizens in an inter-operable manner pan-India, online availability and accessibility would be ensured. This would facilitate continuity of care, better health outcome and better decision support system and is expected to help in reducing expenditure on avoidable repetitive and similar diagnostic tests.
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