JIPMER Information Technology Services (JITS)

JITS includes and integrates the following services:

• AIS
• HIS
• CRAFT
• JIPMER Website
• Telemedicine & Teleconferencing
• Library Computerisation
• Computerisation of Academic services and Examination Wing

Functions and Terms of reference:

1. Assesses the IT requirements, creates IT infrastructure and implements IT services for JIPMER.
2. Educates the users for the effective use of IT products and services.
3. The core group of the committee will meet at least twice in a year and approve the proposals for procurement of IT products and services only. The departments will be asked to send their annual requirements in a specified format and justify the needs in one of the meetings (Requirement review meeting).
4. The Members of Advisory Board and the External Experts will be invited for the meetings as and when required. Sub-committees / task forces consisting of the members of the advisory board and the external experts will be formed for specific projects taken up by the JITS.
5. The proposals for the purchase of IT products and services (for items approved in the requirement review meeting and the new ones also) will be submitted to the Purchase Section by the departments and will be referred to the Committee for scrutiny and approval.
6. The proposal may be circulated among the members of the core group/discussed in a formal meeting, approved and submitted back to the purchase section for the purchase of the item as per procedure.
7. The members of the advisory board and the external experts may be invited for the meeting depending on the nature of the proposal.

Administrative Information System (AIS):

The computerization of administrative matters of the Institute commenced during 1987 with two Desktop systems. The idea was to develop it into a Management Information System (MIS) that is suitable for JIPMER. Computer-oriented Management Information System (MIS) for the hospital was launched during 1994 with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC) Regional Office at Hyderabad. The hardware, peripherals, and software provided to this unit were minimum, which included two “486-servers” with 64 terminals located in various Wards, Labs, and the Medical Records Department. All these terminals were connected with line-driver and RS-232 serial cable technology. After an interaction with the faculty and staff members of the Institute, a systematic study was carried out by the regional office of NIC, Hyderabad for developing appropriate software for Hospital Information System (HIS) as well as for Administrative Information System (AIS) in 1994. The concerned faculty and staff members visited the NIC, Hyderabad during the development stage of the software. Subsequently, many programme modules were developed for computerized registration of inpatients and outpatients; Patient Enquiry System at Reception; RICU events summary; OT list; Discharge Summary Reports; Patients Referral Letters; Lab. Reports of Histopathology, Biochemistry, Pathology, and Microbiology; entire operations of Blood Bank; data entry and processing of data from the other hospital units etc.

Based on the experience from 1994, steps were initiated to create the project “JICMIS” (JIPMER Integrated Computerised Management Information System) during 1998-99 with an objective to integrate the Hospital Management Information through Hospital Information System (HIS) Unit and Administrative Information System (AIS) Unit and their affiliated sub-systems. The entire gamut of activities in the hospital area i.e. out-patients’ registration through MRD, in-patient care in Wards, OTs and Casualty, Pharmacy services, Diagnostic and Lab services as well as hospital administration including nursing care, CSSD, Central Stores and other allied services etc. were linked with the HIS Unit. At the same time, the important activities of the Administrative Block of the Institute in the various Establishment Sections, Finance, Accounts, Education, and Research were coordinated by the AIS Unit.

In November 1999 the JICMIS organizational structure was further fine-tuned to create an additional physical infrastructure with the available facilities. Accordingly a new Centre, viz, Centre for Research and Academic Facilities and Training (CRAFT) was established in the library building. The objective of CRAFT was to promote distribution and creation of media through CDs, provision of Internet and e-mail facilities to the various units in the Institute, installation of fax machines, collection of biometrical and research information and to extend computer facilities to all the academic departments. The birth of CRAFT was also meant to facilitate computerization of library, literature search through computerized coding and indexing; and to provide computer training and orientation to the staff members.

Hospital Information System (HIS):

The Hospital Information Services Unit (HISU) was formed to computerize the record-keeping of hospital and patients’ information and manage a network linking of all the hospital wards, OPDs, OTs, Blood Bank, Laboratory Investigation Services, Pharmacy, other ancillary services and the office of the Medical Superintendent.

Currently, the HISU has networked the important patient entry and service areas such as Medical Records Department, Admission Room, Emergency Medical Services Department, Blood Bank, Laboratory services departments such as Pathology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Central Labs and other ancillary services departments

The HIS network functions using a Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) Software package that has been tailored to suit our hospital needs. The package is deployed and is expected to facilitate the medical record-keeping of the hospital vastly once it is fully used after linking of wards to capture clinical data of the patients in the main hospital, EMS and Super Specialty Block.

AUGMENTATION PLANS:

1. Setting up of hospital-wide state of the art local area network for computerizing and interlinking of all the wards in the main hospital, EMS, and wards in Super Specialty Block, OTs, OPDs, laboratories, and departments.
2. Procurement and commissioning of high-end rack-mounted Servers, workstations and storage devices for the HIS network system with adequate back-up and redundancy so that hardware downtime is ZERO.
3. Procurement and installation of client desktop computers in all the patient-care areas where they are required through the hospital network system.
4. A post of e Computer Data Processor (CDP) has been created and filled and assisted by regular MRD Staff in the day-to-day functioning of HIS. This personnel takes care of the responsibilities for management of Hospital Network and software modules. The new creation is essentially required for overall HIS maintenance.
5. Recruitment/absorption/outsourcing the services of information technology professionals like system administrator, network manager, computer programmers, Data Processing Assistants, Hardware Assistants for keeping the HIS Unit network running smoothly 24 x 7 x 365, with zero downtime.

The Centre for Research & Academic Facilities & Training (CRAFT) :

The Centre for Research & Academic Facilities & Training (CRAFT) was formed in the year 2001 to cater the information technology (IT) needs of faculty members for carrying out research and other academic work.