The electronic patient information system, ePIS, has yet to be rolled out in hospitals throughout the country. It was initially planned to be rolled out nationwide by mid of this year. According to the project director for ePIS, the rollout was delayed as the system has to be integrated with machines and laboratories in respective hospitals. The online system enables healthcare professionals to access patients’ medical records online.
Currently, the ePIS team is implementing the system in hospitals in Dagana, Trongsa, and Zhemgang, where works are expected to be completed by the end of this month.
The system, launched in April last year, maintains patients’ medical records online. It requires patients to present proof of identity, such as a Citizenship Identity Card number or work permit.
Doctors at the National Referral Hospital said that the system is running efficiently despite some network issues in the morning rush hours when more number of patients are being registered on the system.
Some patients visiting the National Referral Hospital said that the system will benefit both patients and healthcare professionals in many ways.
“If we lose or misplace our medical prescription, our medical history would be maintained in the system by the hospital. Not only in Thimphu, but it is also accessible in other district hospitals just by punching our CID number in the system,” said Wangyal, a patient.
“It is a must for people with medical conditions to use health books. Being a mother, if our health book gets damaged or if we do not take proper care of it, we can get our medical records from the hospital by giving our CID number. It is very helpful for us,” said Tsheten Dema, another patient.
However, some patients and attendants said they are facing difficulties as their medical records are sometimes not recorded in the system.
Meanwhile, the ePIS project director at the GovTech Agency said that technical glitches are expected in the initial years as the system takes time to stabilise.
“Following the successful implementation across the hospitals in the 20 districts, we then plan to implement it in the Primary Healthcare Centers across the country. We have done a pilot rollout in BHUs by training HAs online. We have observed that they have a series of challenges in terms of connectivity and devices to use the system. So, we are working with the Ministry of Finance and health ministry to resolve these issues,” said Garab Dorji, ePIS project director at GovTech Agency.
The system has been implemented in 47 hospitals, including regional referral hospitals throughout the country as of now. There are 53 hospitals across the 20 districts.
The team plans to implement the system in close to 180 Primary Healthcare Centres in the future.
Tashi Chezom
Edited by Phub Gyem
