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It was an early morning call, on a Sunday, that woke me up. My friends mother-in-law, who lived in Agra, was seriously ill. A heart patient, the night before shed had a stroke, and was admitted to a local hospital. Unfortunately, things got a little complicated and perhaps went out of hand, and the doctors at the hospital advised that she be immediately shifted to a hospital in Delhi which specialized in heart as well as brain. Somebody suggested the name of one of South Delhis oldest and most premium names in heart care. Frantic calls were made to this hospital in the middle of the night, but no doctor was available. So, on the advise of the receptionist, the lady was put on an ambulance and shifted to this hospital.

In the meanwhile I was also trying to contact some senior doctors I knew, but I discovered that Sunday morning is not the right time to contact senior doctors. Hospitals do not seem to be geared to handle situations where one just wants to talk and explain the situation and find out what the next steps should be.

It was only by late morning when a senior doctor had reached the hospital and gone through her case that it was discovered that she needed immediate attention of a neurosurgeon. Unfortunately, all that the hospital promised by way of help was another ambulance, and quick billing for the services rendered so far. It was left to my friend to figure where to try his mother-in-laws luck next.

I had finally managed to speak to some doctors, and they promised to help me get in touch with the right hospital and the right doctor. But by the time these doctors checked out with the specialists, and they in turn with their colleagues about the the possible next steps for this patient, who was by then almost half dead, another couple of crucial hours had been lost. Finally, one hospital was zeroed-in on and the doctors there instructed, over several phone calls, that she be readied and shifted. Some more critical time was lost before she reached the next hospital, by late afternoon. For an emergency like this, medication and surgery started about twenty-four hours late, and one hopes and prays that she survives.

So what kind of IT and networking in hospitals do we talk about? Only billing software, or inventory management so that hospitals are monetarily efficient and profitable? Could the concerned hospitals not use ICT to help and guide patients. A layman can list down the possible solutions ranging from sharable database of hospitals and resources to SMS alerts for doctors to tele-medicine, that could have prevented a situation like this. I think just like Nandan Nilekani has been asked to create a structured database of all Indian citizens, we need an administrator who can ensure hospitals across the country deploy these solutions. A unique ID will give my identity, but an IT enabled hospital system can give me life.

Ibrahim Ahmad
ibrahima@cybermedia.co.in

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