TIMES NEWS NETWORKMangaluru: The health department is all set to give much emphasis to digitisation with the introduction of paperless hospitals initiative, providing broadband connections to health centres across the state and opening tele-ICU in selected hospitals, said health minister UT Khader.The minister told reporters on Thursday, that since it is an age of digitisation, the health department has also decided to implement a mega project– ‘e-Health’. All public health centres (PHC), community health centres (CHC) and taluk hospitals will be provided broadband internet connections. The paperless hospital initiative has been introduced on a pilot basis at 40 hospitals in the state through agencies. Soon, the project will be extended to 183 hospitals, Khader said, adding that all required infrastructure, including computers and other accessories will be supplied to hospitals. “The purpose of introducing the e-Health project is to ensure that govt hospitals should have complete health data of every patient. This will help doctors to evaluate the patient based on this previous health track record, including lab reports. In the next phase, the health department will discuss about taking an initiative to link the data with private hospitals. Even if a patient visits private hospitals, they will be able to access the person’s health record,” he said.On the Rs 30 crore tele-ICU project, the minister explained that a trained nurse attending critical cases in taluk hospitals and CHCs, especially in paediatric emergency and special neonatal intensive care unit (SNICU), may connect specialists to manage the cases. The department will hire specialists from private hospitals for this purpose, he said. “This initiative will help patients to avail critical care in taluk hospitals and CHCs, instead of visiting district hospitals or private facilities, where the treatment cost will be expensive,” said Khader. To a query, the minister said that the department will issue a directive to all eateries across the state to provide hot water to customers to prevent spread of diseases, especially hepatitis.Millet Conclave in WashingtonKhader said that a Millet Conclave will be organised in Washington in the US in Oct. A meeting held in Chicago in this regard discussed the production of millets in India. The meeting primarily focused on helping Indian farmers who produce millets. They want Indian farmers and agriculture experts to participate in this conclave, he said. On his visit to receive the Global Civics Leadership Award by the American Multi Ethnic Commission (AMEC) in Chicago recently, Khader said that he was happy to become one of the 20 achievers from the world to be honoured with the award.
