Coming soon: An app to facilitate registration process at PGI

This CR number will be a code of the patient for lifetime.

The app is at a conceptual stage. But,once launched,the app can be downloaded on Android,iOS or web-based systems. It will be bilingual,in Hindi and English,to have a wider coverage.

Talking about the advantages of this app,Dr L Narayana,vice-chairman,Computerisation Monitoring Committee,says,“It will save patients from hassles they have to go through during registration. We will create separate counters for people with transaction numbers. It will reduce the rush and save a lot of time of both patients and the staff.”

He adds,“Another advantage is that if a patient himself fills out details like name,address,telephone number,then there are minimal chances of typography mistakes.”

Error-free registration of patients is the first important step of Hospital Management Information System (HMIS),which is under process at PGI. “In HMIS,our aim is to give a patient a unique number or code for the rest of her life. Once received a code,entire information of the patient will be accessible on typing that code. It will benefit the patient. When she visits the hospital next time,she will need not wait in long queues for registration,” says Dr Narayana.

He says once a code is issued,a patient cannot be registered again. “On typing a name,father’s name,contact number and CR number will pop up. Hence,one person will have one CR number for lifetime,” he adds.

At present,many cases have come to light where a patient has been registered twice or thrice on every visit and is issued different CR numbers. Reason: names were not written correctly or there were other errors.

“The app should get ready in next five to six months,” says Dr Narayana.