Bhubaneswar: The state health and family welfare department has proposed to introduce online hospital management or e-hospital system in the state-run health care facilities for the first time.

The new system will allow patients to book appointments with doctors online.

The department would introduce the system on a pilot basis at the Acharya Harihar Cancer Research Centre and the Sishu Bhavan in Cuttack. Later, the service will be extended to other government hospitals.

"We have considered introduction of the e-hospital system that will not only help patients book online appointments, but also help manage hospital records and that of its employees. We will hire an expert agency for this," said a department official.

Sources said a Noida-based private agency had put forward a proposal and the government was considering it. "We have asked the agency to conduct a feasibility survey for introduction of the e-hospital system. If the results are positive, we will go ahead with it," he said.

Once implemented, patients will have to visit a specific website and book appointments online by providing their personal details. They will then have to take a printout of the online receipt for the appointment and visit the hospital to meet the doctor. The facility already exists at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.

"The AIIMS, Delhi has developed an online hospital management system and its extension centres. We have been included in the system. It saves time," said AIIMS sub-dean Prabhash Ranjan Mishra.

The system will also provide a mechanism to access patient records and have a system to manage those. It will have components for ward management, investigations, lab services, blood bank, operation theatres and ICUs.

"It is evident now that the government hospitals in the state are steadily providing good medical services at affordable prices, for which a number of people are coming to the facilities," said Dumduma resident Hruday Mahanty.

"Getting the appointment at these hospitals manually is indeed a tiresome job. I hope the online appointment system will ease the services to a large extent," he said.