An electronic health record of every citizen accessible via a unique identifying number at any government hospital, telemedicine and online appointment booking are some of the features of the new Digital Health Mission project inaugurated at 50 state-run hospitals by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday.
The Chief Minister of Kerala, during the launch event, said, “At present, it has been implemented in 311 hospitals where this queue management system has been set up. People can take appointments of the doctors through the ehealth portal and it will be easier for the doctors to refer patients to other hospitals.”
The health card will store all the health data of each individual in the state, which can be accessed by the doctor of any hospital.
Besides this, several emerging technology health projects like -- diabetic retinopathy, blood bank traceability and vaccine coverage analysis -- are also being launched by the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategy Council (K-DISC), the CM said during the online event.
Health Minister Veena George has said that advance appointments in hospitals can be made through the eHealth web portal (ehealth.kerala.gov.in) set up by the state health department. Only appointments can be made at hospitals that have implemented eHealth.
Doctor services are available at more than 300 e-health facilities with advance bookings in advance at scheduled dates and times. Online printing of OP tickets and token slips is possible. The appointment through the hospital will continue as it is, the minister said.
Steps to create a unique Health ID:
· To access e-Health services, you must first create an identification number.
· To do so, go to ehealth.kerala.gov.in and click on the register link.
· Enter the Aadhaar number in it.
· Then the OTP will appear on the Aadhaar registered number.
· A personal health identification number can be obtained online by providing this OTP.
· When you log in for the first time, you will receive a 16-digit personal health identification number and password as a message on your mobile.
· With this identification number and password you can make an appointment at the hospital on the due date and time.
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Steps to book an online appointment:
· Log in to the e health portal with your unique health ID and password.
· Click New Appointment. If it is a referral, record that information and then select the hospital and department.
· Available tokens for the selected day will be displayed when the appointment date is selected.
· You can pick up the token at a convenient time.
· You will get the apointment details in your phone as SMS as well.
· Show the SMS booking details at the hospital.
This facility will also help around 50,000 primary, secondary and tertiary level doctors, paramedical and non-clinical staff to utilize information technology in providing services in the health sector through the eHealth scheme launched by the Government of Kerala.