HMIS to revamp health sector – Himachal Health Minister

By: Ravinder Makhaik

Shimla: Lack of disease profile data for the state’s population has egged health administrators to have in place a health management information system (HMIS) that would throw up disease prevalence patterns and enable authorities to keep a tab on medication, diagnostics and treatments provided.

Spelling out the priorities for rolling out the system, Rajiv Bindal, health minister says, “We have working on HMIS for a year now and once implemented, it would revamp the entire health sector and enable us to use existing manpower and resources more efficiently.

He said the government had sought expression of interest for implementing HMIS whereby health administrators at the click of a mouse would know the status of various institutions, patients admitted, treatments given, equipments, medicines available and all other information related to their functioning.

After getting a response from 53 concerns for setting up the information system, the minister disclosed, process of tendering the job was being taken up.

‘At the moment all data and information is collected manually and delays that occur often do not provide timely intervention,” he said adding, “ a HMIS system would also reveal a disease profile of the population that would allow health workers to manage treatments more efficiently.”

Speaking about out other health initiatives, he said the government was working for providing free health care for poor families.

We have launched health insurance for all below poverty line (BPL) families and expect to issue about 3 lakh smart cards, which would bring the targeted group under a insurance cover that would enable poor people to avail treatments of even critical diseases like cardiac and cardiothoracic surgeries, gentio urinary surgery, neurosurgery, radiation oncology, trauma, transplant surgeries, spinal surgeries and surgical gastro enterology, he said.

By strengthening Rogi Kalayan Samiti’s, now we are looking at providing free outdoor patient treatment to poor families, said Bindal.

The minister further that patient rush in the district hospitals of Shimla, Mandi and Solan was heavy, which had an OPD of about 1000 patients on a daily basis.

Plans were drawn up to rebuild a new block at Deen Dayal Upadhay District Hospital, Shimla, as the old structure was ill planned and was unable to cope up with the need of the institution, said Bindal.