Hosps introduce QR code system to track medicine availability
Chhapra: The health department has launched a digital initiative in Saran district to ensure transparency and reduce patient inconvenience in govt hospitals. From now on, patients visiting any govt health facility, from primary health centres to sub-divisional and district hospitals, will be able to check the availability of medicines by scanning a QR code.This QR code system is integrated with the Centre's Drugs and Vaccine Distribution Management System (DVDMS) portal, allowing real-time updates on stock levels.
The move is intended to prevent patients from being misled about the availability of medicines by any vested interests.Highlighting the challenges faced by patients in the past, Saran civil surgeon Dr Sagar Dulal Sinha said, "Patients visiting govt hospitals were often harassed under the pretext of certain medicines being unavailable. Although a system for medicine distribution was already in place, patients, especially those travelling from distant areas,, frequently faced difficulties and were forced to purchase medicines from the market.""With the introduction of the new system, the patients would feel relief and would be able to save time and money," he added.According to instructions issued by the health department, scanning the QR code will immediately display a list of medicines on the patient's cellphone. Medicines that are in stock will be shown in green while those unavailable will appear in red.Arvind Kumar, district programme manager (DPM) of the District Health Society, expressed optimism about the new service. "We hope that the digital services will provide transparency in health services," he said.
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