‘eHealth Kerala’ not implemented in half of the institutions; fewer than 1,000 use OP ticket facility

Thrissur: The eHealth Kerala portal which was established by the Health Department for extending e-governance services in the healthcare sector, has not been implemented in half of the institutions. The system was put in place in order to avoid people standing in queues for taking outpatient (OP) tickets, buying medicines, and collecting test results.

At present, eHealth services are available only in 570 of the 1,300 healthcare institutions in the State. They include 14 medical colleges, 434 family health centres, 17 district hospitals, 2 public laboratories, 29 public health centres, and 73 taluk hospitals. Thiruvananthapuram has the largest chain of eHealth facilities.

Although eHealth services are more efficient in family health centres than in important hospitals in many districts, there are very few people who depend on the website for taking the out-patient ticket. Many have not even come to know about the facility. 

The website claims that over 90% (3,21,09,120 persons) of Kerala’s population have already registered themselves till now. However, only 33,98,519 persons (10.58%) have obtained the Permanent Unique Health Identification Number. Only fewer than 1,000 persons use the online facility for taking out-patient tickets daily. 

How the eHealth system works
A One-Time Password (OTP) will be sent to the registered mobile number when one logs in to the website and submits the Aadhaar number. If the OTP is entered, a 16-digit Personal Health Identification Number will be generated. This number can be used for availing of services under eHealth Kerala. Using this, one can take an OP ticket from any hospital in the State. Not only the OP ticket but also the results of laboratory examinations could be received on the mobile phone.