Soon, e-prescriptions to be given at 714 Primary Health Centres

MP | 9 Aug 2023 | Kolkata: The state health department has decided to roll out e-prescriptions at 714 Primary Health Centres (PHC) across Bengal after it ran the project on a pilot basis at 174 PHCs. 

An order has been issued to all the chief medical officers of health (CMoHs) in the districts. The CMoHs have been directed to electronically capture the entire circle of patients’ care through integrated management systems at all superspecialty hospitals. 

Prescriptions by doctors in all state-run medical colleges and hospitals in Bengal will soon be typed out and not hand written. 

Senior health officials believe that going digital with the prescription will make it easier to generate and maintain data that includes disease profile, patient medical history record and usage of generic drugs. 

Most private hospitals in the city now use e-prescription. 

E-prescription is already in place at some teaching hospitals like SSKM in departments like gastroenterology. 

The state health department had decided to launch the first phase of implementing e-prescription from 900 primary health centres across the state. Later on, it will be extended to medical colleges and other hospitals. 

The health department has asked all districts to nominate a nodal officer for the purpose. All the CMoHs have been requested to closely monitor and review periodically with the district nodal officer designated for this purpose. 

The department has already identified the health units from where the first phase of e-prescription will be launched. 

Training is being imparted among the staff members by the Health department’s IT cell. 

The Bengal government is in the process of making e-prescription mandatory in emergency wards of all government hospitals which will be under direct monitoring of the Health department. 

One of the main purposes of the move is to ensure no single case of patient referral is carried out unnecessarily. 

The state government is committed to check the referral of patients by hospitals that already have adequate infrastructure. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/soon-e-prescriptions-to-be-given-at-714-primary-health-centres-528651