Mumbai: No more queue chaos at OPDs in civic hospitals

A trial of BMC's Health Management Information System is already on at Nair hospital. File pic

Do you dread the long wait to see a doctor at OPDs in civic hospitals, forced to stand for hours guarding your spot, lest you miss your turn if you so much as run to the loo for two minutes? This is will soon be a thing of the past, as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to conduct a pilot of the token number system at three of its hospitals - Nair, Cooper, and Kasturba - under the Health Management Information System (HMIS).

Talking about the initiative, a senior doctor from BMC's health department said, "After a person goes to the OPD, a computer-generated ticket will be given to him/her, and s/he will be told the approximate time his/her turn will come at. When the patient's number flashes on the screen, s/he will be allowed in to see the doctor. Not only will this lessen the chaos, but it will also give some breathing room to patients, as they can sit, grab a bite, or even run a quick errand and return for their turn in the stipulated time."

HMIS is an ambitious project of the civic body that will help to improve the functioning of hospitals. Under this system, all data, right from medical records to lab reports, will be put up online. A trial at Nair Hospital has been successful so far. After it is fully implemented, patients won't need to carry all their medical documents with them. Doctors will have access to all relevant papers through patients' registered numbers.

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