Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Oct 16: After facing delays, even though hospitals across J&K are already performing well under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), the Health & Medical Education (H&ME) Department is set to launch its innovative Scan & Share queue management system at SKIMS Medical College, Bemina.
Officials have informed Excelsior that this facility will be introduced at the hospital in the coming days, with the primary goal of streamlining patient registration at this critical tertiary healthcare facility, making the process more convenient and hassle-free.
A delay has already been experienced in implementing this system, not only at SKIMS, Bemina but also at SKIMS, Soura, due to technical issues with the existing software, particularly the security audit. Fortunately, these issues have now been resolved.
However, officials have pointed out that despite SKIMS, Soura’s association with the software, it was not shared with SKIMS Medical College, Bemina, leading to further delays in implementing the Scan & Share queue management system.
Excelsior has learned that, under the ABDM, authorities have facilitated the hospital in acquiring the HMIS software through NIC, which is compliant with the ABDM ecosystem. This development has finally enabled the hospital to prepare for the implementation of the Scan & Share facility.
On the other hand, before launching the facility, the hospital will need to map its healthcare professionals on the HPR portal of the ABDM, a process that has already begun.
Officials explained, “Their healthcare professionals have not yet been mapped on the portal; the hospital authorities have been instructed to ensure this, and the process is already underway.”
They also noted that the issue of healthcare professionals not being mapped is prevalent not only at SKIMS, Bemina but also at SKIMS, Soura, where only 10 per cent of their overall healthcare professionals have been mapped.
Additional Mission Director, ABDM in J&K, Dr Shafqat Khan, while referring to the start of the facility at the hospital told Excelsior: “We are committed to easing the problems at the OPD level by introducing the facility so that our entry becomes queue-less, and the long wait at the hospital ends.”
With a daily average of over 2000 registrations recorded at the hospital, the overall OPD tokens generated through the Scan & Share system are expected to increase across Kashmir with the introduction of the facility at SKIMS, Bemina.
Medical Superintendent, SKIMS, Bemina, Dr Shafa Deva, also confirmed to Excelsior that they are going to roll out the facility in a few days, noting that they are currently completing the prerequisites.
“We are on it, and in a few days, we are going to start the Scan & Share facility here, which will facilitate the patients,” she said, emphasizing that there was no delay in launching the facility.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
