Following the success of the pilot in Jaffna and Batticaloa, the roll out in seven additional regional hospitals will begin mid November this year, and will encompass Hambantota, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee and Vavuniya.
“The initial effort is being concentrated in the regional hospitals since it is in these areas that the need for such a system is most keenly felt” says CEO of Hutchinson Telecom Lanka, Thirukumar Nadarasa “Making a sincere and tangible positive difference in peoples’ lives is very much at the core of the Hutch philosophy. This Patient Management System has the potential to make an enormous positive impact on the welfare of thousands of new born babies and children and Hutch felt it was imperative to support this vital project”.
The project was initiated when the Professorial Paediatric Unit of Jaffna came to recognise that many parents tend to misplace the original infant record sheet they get from the hospital; a critical problem when treating them for any subsequent illnesses. Equally, parents would miss out on, or delay their childs’ immunization dates and follow up appointments due to the loss of their record sheet. Thus, the Patient Management System is designed to provide a two-fold advantage since it provides an electronic backup of patient records within the hospital, as well as ensuring that patients receive reminders via SMS regarding important follow up and vaccination appointments.
“I am happy to see something that we initiated as a pilot project towards the millennium goal has picked up momentum and is growing fast with the support of Hutch. Millennium goal suggest ‘globalisation’, and the way forward for this, is to have proper statistics and databases for patients’. Says Dr. M G Sathiadas, Consultant Paediatrician and Head of Paediatric Professorial Unit, Teaching Hospital, Jaffna, who is the initiator of the pilot project.
“The launch of the Patient Management System in Batticaloa marked a new era in the ongoing patient care in Sri Lanka” said The Dean of the Faculty of Health-care Sciences, Eastern University, Sri Lanka Dr. K.T.Sunderesan, “I am delighted that today we are witnessing the first steps in the establishment of an island wide network that signifies a much needed and hugely beneficial change in the Health sector. We greatly appreciate Hutch for their generous sponsorship in this historic venture”.
Reliable and current data on Neonatal and Childhood illnesses is essential in improving the healthcare services in the country, and it is difficult to gather such data at this time. The Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians aims to use this network of systems to gather and store essential data. Dr. Srilal De Silva - Senior Consultant Pediatrician and Past President of the SLCP explained the long term reach of the system “Maintaining statistics in our own department is vital. Without this we are blind as to how good or bad we are delivering our services. Self auditing and strategic planning is the way forward to improve quality patient care”
The roll out will begin in Hambantota, and it is expected that all seven regional hospitals will be covered by March 2015. “We will put every effort into ensuring that this system goes out as quickly and efficiently as possible and I am thankful to Hutch for their support, which enabled us to speed up the process” emphasizes Mr. Alan Sathiadas, Product Architect of the Patient Management System.“The faster people start to benefit, the better.” (ECB/KH)
