State to connect CT and MRI scans in all government hospitals

The initiative would start within four weeks, said Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation Limited (TNMSC) Man-aging Director Dr P Umanath, explaining that the initiative would benefit centres without a radiologist. “All government hospitals that have CT and MRI scan machines will be connected. As of now, we have 60 centres and are in the process of establishing 14 more centres.”

At centres without a radiologist, the scan reports are physically transported to another hospital that has a special-ist. “By connecting them, we intend to ensure that the results are transferred quickly. Medical college hospitals may have multiple radiologists. However, at hospitals with only one specialist, she/he cannot work 24 hours every day. In the case of a scan done at night, the report comes only the following day, by around noon,” he added, high-lighting the difficulty faced by patients in this regard.

Therefore, hospitals would be provided with a laptop and connectivity. “If there is an emergency scan, the report will come immediately. Many states have been using this on a small scale – covering not more than two centres. This is the first time it is being taken to such a large extent,” said an official. 

While connectivity has been established in all hospitals and trial runs are being conducted, the official said that it would take around four to six weeks before it can be widely used in the state. “Though our deadline to finish the project was the first week of July, we require a few more weeks,” said Umanath, adding, “We floated a national-level tender to select a firm. We are planning to pay Rs 18 to the vendor for each of the reports uploaded onto the cloud.”

Stating that the project will speed up the reporting of cases, Dr R Jayanthi, dean of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) said, “There are instances where hospitals delay the treatment due to lack of facilities and therefore lagging the report.”

With this new facility, people do not have to wait for too long, not just in the city hospitals, but even in remote villages. “Reporting is going to be expedited and will be available 24x7. Besides, the radiologists will be able to give a report from wherever they are, making it much easier for the specialists to immediately prescribe medication,” she added.