BSMMU to go digital in three phases

Patients of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) will receive 45 types of digitised medical services, including hospital inquiry, e-token appointment and bill payment. 

The information was revealed at the concluding session of an event titled “Digital Service Design and Planning Lab” today. 

State Minister for ICT Division, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, was present as the chief guest at the event, while Health Secretary Md Ashadul Islam joined as the special guest. Vice Chancellor of BSMMU, Dr Kanak Kanti Barua, presided over the session. 

The public medical university will be digitised in three phases; The first phase, to be inaugurated on December 12, 2020, will have 15 basic medical facilities including one step information service management, queue management, registration, admission, transfer, discharge, appointment, billing, prescription management, casualty and emergency management, blood bank management and drug and pharmacy management.              

The second phase, which will be launched in June 2021, will cover 18 features, including human resource management, bed management, nurse station management and ICU management. 

The third stage will have 12 services, including financial management, parking space management and morgue management, and it will be launched in December 2021.

Digitising BSMMU will require a total cost of Tk27.50 crore, funded jointly by the university, the ICT ministry and the health ministry. 

“Introduction of health insurance, e-medicine and e-prescription will bring down medical costs of the patients,” said Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

The state minister also talked about the government’s plan to establish a central health record database, under which, a patient will be able to get registered from anywhere in Bangladesh.

“I want to introduce e-documentation first and a2i [Access to Information] will lend all out support for this,” said Palak.   

Speaking at the event, Health Secretary Md Ashadul Islam said: “Medicare is the largest service sector. It will be a tremendous achievement for Bangladesh if the health sector can be digitised.”    

He said as much as 80% digitisation of the health sector will be done if the medical universities come under digital facilities. 

BSMMU Pharmacology Department Chairman, also the Chief of IT Cell, Professor Sayedur Rahman, said providing service through digital platforms will save time and money.     

“Moreover, it will be easier to detect the magnitude of any disease outbreak, to locate doctors, or finding out nearby blood banks at any specific area,” he added.