PGIMER plans to enhance online consultation services

Naina Mishra

Chandigarh, July 12

In a bid to alleviate the burden of the growing influx of patients and to improve accessibility, the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, is planning to enhance their online consultation services. Under this, the patients will be able to upload their medical history and seek appointments with consultants for serious illnesses.

Inspired by the success of the AIIMS-Delhi model, the PGIMER aims to provide online consultation to a fraction of patients who register online for the first time at their Outpatient Departments (OPDs). Notably, over 10,000 patients, many of whom hail from neighboring states like Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and parts of Rajasthan, visit the OPDs every day. By introducing the option of online consultation for tech-savvy patients, the medical institution hopes to take some burden off the OPDs while ensuring the availability of timely and convenient healthcare services.

Under the new system, the patients who register online will be required to have access to the Internet, a valid e-mail account and an active mobile number. Once registered, the patients will receive a confirmation of their appointment details via SMS, which would carry a unique identification number assigned by the Department of Telemedicine.

Using this identification number, the patients will be able to log in to the online consultation portal, where they can enter their demographic and clinical details either on their own, or with the assistance of a registered medical professional in their vicinity, such as a Community Health Center (CHC), Primary Health Center (PHC) or a dispensary. Besides, the patients will have an option to upload past clinical records such as X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds and lab reports in the JPEG format.

The data provided by the patients will be reviewed by the consultants in the Department of Telemedicine to screen for diseases. For minor illnesses, the patients may receive guidance via SMS, video calls through an integrated video-conferencing system or a WhatsApp calls. However, for more serious conditions, patients will be given an appointment at PGIMER, Chandigarh, with the designated specialty and a specific date and time will be communicated through SMS.

After a visit to the PGIMER, the patients will continue to receive follow-up care from the Department of Telemedicine. This online consultation facility not only offers patients the opportunity to review their treatment remotely, but it also serves as a valuable option for second opinions. Furthermore, the system is particularly advantageous for follow-up patients, as they can engage in video conferences to discuss their progress, thereby avoiding unnecessary travel to the hospital.

To ensure seamless integration and adherence to the norms set by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding Electronic Medical Records (EMR), the Electronic Health Records (EHR) and the Personal Health Records (PHR), the PGIMER will utilise the hospital’s data centers’ EMR and EHR systems for OPD and inpatient cases. Additionally, the PHR systems will be developed specifically for outreach programmes, and subsequently integrated into the online consultation platform.

Manpower requirements for this initiative include assistant professors (medical) & (non-medical), who will be instrumental in ensuring the success and efficacy of the online consultation services. The proposal was tabled at the Standing Academic Committee meeting held this year. The committee agreed to the creation of faculty positions in the Department of Telemedicine.