A system update needed for hospitals
A centralised system may facilitate families and medical experts at multiple hospitals
The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) is on a hot pursuit to upgrade federal hospital systems in Islamabad. The purpose of the project is to improve patient load by implementing a system that allows for better workflow. Having dealt with the adverse effects of a poorly-designed healthcare system for decades, we would welcome the upgrading of federal hospital systems.
Innovation is the key to survival. The National Health Service is implored to transform its commitment to implement an integrated electronic IT system that would allow quick access to medical professionals across hospitals into a reality. Federally-run hospitals cater to low-income families, some who travel days from remote areas for serious medical treatment only to be turned away due to heavy patient loads. Many are patients who have not had the opportunity for education and are thus unable to effectively communicate their ailments and past treatments to new doctors. An electronic record would reduce the need to rely on ambiguous patient memory and speed up the process.
The PITB proposal is reassuring; it has been a long time since proactive decisions were discussed. Government hospitals in other provinces should follow suit, especially in light of recent events at a hospital in Karachi where a lack of coordination — or the absence of a system for it — contributed to the loss of one child’s life. No matter how severe the case is, hapless family members should not have to run from pillar to post once they present their patient case to a hospital. A centralised system may facilitate families and medical experts at multiple hospitals and allow time to be saved if they are told to seek help elsewhere. A person brought to an emergency department with life-threatening conditions is only minutes away from death. If the system can streamline information sharing about bed availability and ambulatory services, cases such as Amal’s may be mitigated and we would proudly be able to say that like hospitals in other countries constantly adopting electronic health records, healthcare in Pakistan is beginning to keep pace.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2018.
Innovation is the key to survival. The National Health Service is implored to transform its commitment to implement an integrated electronic IT system that would allow quick access to medical professionals across hospitals into a reality. Federally-run hospitals cater to low-income families, some who travel days from remote areas for serious medical treatment only to be turned away due to heavy patient loads. Many are patients who have not had the opportunity for education and are thus unable to effectively communicate their ailments and past treatments to new doctors. An electronic record would reduce the need to rely on ambiguous patient memory and speed up the process.
The PITB proposal is reassuring; it has been a long time since proactive decisions were discussed. Government hospitals in other provinces should follow suit, especially in light of recent events at a hospital in Karachi where a lack of coordination — or the absence of a system for it — contributed to the loss of one child’s life. No matter how severe the case is, hapless family members should not have to run from pillar to post once they present their patient case to a hospital. A centralised system may facilitate families and medical experts at multiple hospitals and allow time to be saved if they are told to seek help elsewhere. A person brought to an emergency department with life-threatening conditions is only minutes away from death. If the system can streamline information sharing about bed availability and ambulatory services, cases such as Amal’s may be mitigated and we would proudly be able to say that like hospitals in other countries constantly adopting electronic health records, healthcare in Pakistan is beginning to keep pace.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2018.