Eye on IT

Sankara Nethralaya is one of the first ophthalmic hospitals in Asia to secure
an ISO 2002 certification. Over the years it has evolved as one of the leading
eye specialty institutions in the country as well as in Asia. The organization
also happens to be a heavy user of IT across its functions. One of the key areas
it has applied IT is the implementation of its state-of-the-art electronic
medical records (EMR) system that facilitates seamless delivery of ophthalmic
services. The EMR enables the hospital to capture data, right from registration
to discharge. All data and clinical images are captured and stored in electronic
form, thus making access of data easy and quick for ophthalmologists at the
touch of a button.

Automation Benefits

One of the key benefits of deploying EMR is reduction of time taken by
doctors on research activities. Moreover, medical records can be shared with
other research institutes and pharmaceuticals for research activities. With EMR
adoption, the time taken on retrieval of medical records has come down to zero,
as doctors need not wait for medical records to reach their consultation area;
they can see the medical records of patients in a case summary format on their
system itself.

Says Sampath Kumar, CITO, Sankara Nethralaya, "Implementing the EMR and HMS
has also meant that the quality of service is followed in clinical processes by
an optometrist or consultant, alerting him at appropriate places on drug
interactions, allergy, critical care patients, etc. EMR has also led to an
increase in the overall institutes productivity, allowing more patients per OPD
day, and providing effective time management on diagnostic procedures."

We have a separate annual budget plan for IT	Sampath Kumar, CITO and MK Manavalan, DGM, technology at Sankara Nethralaya

The hospitals deployments of EMR have created a robust technology backbone
as maintenance of records is a key to any healthcare institution. The EMR
backbone has enabled Sankara Nethralaya to have a clear track record of medical
recordsfrom the first day of its operations, from the first medical record
number being generated. Interestingly, Indian Medical Council advises a
patients medical record to be tracked only for the last three years, but
Sankara Nethralaya maintains the medical records continuously for other vital
requirements, like research, including patient care. The EMR now has 2 mn
records. "The EMR is life critical," says MK Manavalan, DGM, technology at
Sankara Nethralaya. "This is a major initiative in the Indian healthcare
industry, where automating the medical records has helped us tremendously in
addressing the challenges that we faced as we expanded our services."

E-learning

Sankara Nethralaya has also implemented an e-learning website www.ekalavya.org
for technology driven training. This addresses a variety of people involved in
the delivery of eye care. Programs have been custom-made for each specialty
concerned. For example: ophthalmology, optometry, ophthalmic nursing, etc, where
once in a fortnight a new case will be posted on the web along with a
discussion. The course content is written by experts in each field and contains
practical information that is not present in standard text books.

Shrikanth G

shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in