PGI gets tele-evidence facility

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 30

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda launched the tele-evidence facility for doctors at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here today.

The Central Sophisticated Instrument Cell (CSIC) to enable the PGIMER reach the excellence in the field of medical sciences was also opened.

Nadda said the target was to make the PGIMER, Chandigarh, a paperless institution. “We have to make it a paperless institute, this is what I expect from AIIMS and the PGI. Whatever the difficulties are, we will take care of them. But we have to go fast and show the difference. This is possible only when we make the system robust and address shortcomings,” he said.

Later, interacting with mediapersons, Nadda said it would immensely benefit the patients as well as doctors.

“This project will not only save time and money but will immensely benefit both doctors and patients. This is a good project and we will try to replicate it in other institutes as well,” he said.

On the high-end CSIC, Nadda said, “It is going to save a lot of money because the duplication and multiplication of instruments will not be there and patients will get all types of facilities under the one roof. In fact, I would like to say that the PGI has taken many good initiatives that can be replicated in other institutes.”

The CSIC will ensure the availability of a cutting-edge technology for higher research and management under a centralised facility.

PGIMER Director YK Chawla said the doctors at the institute received around 1,500 and 2,000 summons in 2013 and 2014, respectively, for giving their professional or expert advice in various courts of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and other states. Notably, the testimony through videoconference, which is an acceptable and legal method of giving evidence, was started on a trial basis at the PGIMER earlier.

According to the figures, by attending the summons through tele-evidencing, the institute saved the cost of travelling 4,85,748 km or on an average 262 km per tele-evidence.

Waiting and travelling time of 14,710 hours (613 days) was saved, which is equivalent to 476 minutes (eight hours) per tele-evidence. As per an estimate, the PGI has saved around Rs 1.92 crore through the 1,800 testimonies of the doctors conducted through tele-evidence besides 1.93 tonnes of carbon footprints saved using the eco-friendly tele-evidence technology.