At least 10 major hospitals to work with state to train doctors, nurses; Centre to have access to data on patients in the region
A handful of private hospitals in the city, many of which have been facing flak for denying treatment to poor patients under the Charity Commission reserved quota, have found a way to revamp their public image.
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At least 10 major private hospitals have joined hands to train doctors and nurses from rural Maharashtra and sub-urban Mumbai under the campaign Digital India. In association with the state, the Organised in association with the state, the campaign will also seek to enhance the digital outreach of medical establishments so that reputable doctors can help patients in the remotest places of Maharashtra through digital outlets.
The team of hospitals includes Nanavati, Lilavati, Jaslok, Hinduja, Vedanta, Holy Spirit, Holy Family, Tata Hospital (Khargar), BSES and Wockhardt hospital and a few other medical establishments in Pune. They have formed a joint forum, MaHIMA, to help rural hospitals go digital.
Dr PV Battalwar, additional medical superintendent, Lilavati Hospital and vice-president of MaHIMA said, “The government has offered computers and Internet connectivity to these medical establishments in rural areas, but the staff lack know-how. We will send IT experts from our hospitals to train them.”
Echoing similar thoughts, Giriraj Lad, medical record officer of Lilavati Hospital and MaHIMA president said, “We are also trying to develop a standardised software that will help in accumulating of data from our hospitals on a centralised database of the government, to decrease time and manual labour. The government will have access to all the documents of patients.”
Health experts, however, say private hospitals should focus on providing free treatment to the poor. Health activist Dr Ravikant Singh said, “It’s a good initiative, but they should focus on offering treatment to poor patients who approach them for help.”
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