Health and Family Affairs Minister Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil today chaired a meeting focused on implementing IT-based solutions in Government Medical Colleges to enhance healthcare delivery across Himachal Pradesh. He emphasized that the adoption of digital technologies can significantly improve efficiency, transparency, and coordination, benefiting both patients and medical professionals.
The meeting highlighted the use of e-health platforms, Hospital Management Information Systems (HMIS), and real-time data management tools. Dr. Shandil stressed the importance of secure, patient-focused systems that facilitate timely diagnosis, effective monitoring, and better collaboration among healthcare providers.
Two key digital initiatives were discussed in detail: the Sugam Swasthya mobile application, which enables online patient registration, and e-Sushrut, a web-based HMIS for managing OPD/IPD registration, billing, admissions, discharges, transfers, bed allocation, inventory, and other hospital services. These systems have been integrated with national platforms including Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABHA), Mera Aspataal, DVDMS, as well as SMS and payment gateways.
The pilot phase of these platforms is currently running in 53 hospitals, including 12 district hospitals, five medical colleges, and 36 civil and sub-divisional hospitals. To support the digital rollout, hospitals have been equipped with desktops, printers, UPS systems, barcode scanners, and 516 tablets, with an additional 56 tablets in the process of being supplied. These tablets help doctors enter OPD and IPD data, manage investigations, and record prescriptions efficiently.
Since implementation, the e-Sushrut HMIS has achieved notable results: 77,89,266 OPD registrations, 8,18,430 emergency OPD registrations, 7,35,984 ABHA token generations, 26,83,276 investigations, 3,72,529 drug inventory issues, and 2,04,898 admissions, discharges, and transfers have been successfully completed.
Dr. Shandil concluded that these IT-driven initiatives represent a major step toward creating a modern, digital, and patient-centric healthcare system in Himachal Pradesh, ensuring better services and outcomes for all citizens.
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