Escorts Heart Institute: IT Escorting to Health

Escorts Heart Institute & Research Center (EHIRC), a premier heart
institute, has earned its name across the globe for excellence in heart related
treatments. Having a world-class IT set-up has enabled the company to establish
itself and be counted among the best, globally.

EHIRC has an enterprise-wide Hospital Information System (HIS) called MedTrak.
This core application is a very elaborate system spanning across all the
functionalities of the hospital. All key modules are integrated so that the
information seamlessly flows from one module to the other. Besides, it has been
very critical in inducing a high level of discipline and efficiency into the
various processes and procedures at EHIRC.

So, even if a patient comes after 10-15 years, his/her entire information
remains intact. At any given time the doctor can see the entire record of the
patient, including lab results, previous history, medications given, etc.

EHIRC also introduced the usage of bar codes for test samples. Other
applications include the Financial Accounting system from IFS, automatic pass
vending system, etc. EHIRC is in the process of implementing the inventory
system. It has also been using telemedicine wherein test results of the
patients, in the form of files and images, are transferred from the various
satellite towns for doctor's consultation. The system also uses video
conferencing for the doctors and patients to interact on a real time basis. The
telemedicine network is connected through ISDN lines. EHIRC has also undertaken
online initiatives for queries, appointments, payments and tracking of an
inpatient's progress, as part of its B2C initiatives.

Maintaining and improving efficiency, even while growing in volume, has been
one of the key achievements of the automation process. Considering the sheer
volume of patients that the hospital caters to, a manual system would not have
been able to cope.

Presently, the MedTrak HIS application is deployed only at the Delhi
hospital, with the associate hospitals still running on the old in-house
systems. As the HIS application stabilizes, it plans to make it available at
other locations. It is also exploring the introduction of smart cards to carry
the patient details. Such a system can help link the patient to the hospital at
one end and the insurance company at the other, in a seamless manner, bringing
down paperwork to a minimum.