Starting today, a patient’s medical history will be accessible across all the government hospitals in Delhi as Chief Minister Rekha Gupta rolls out the NextGen Hospital Information Management System (HIMS). The rollout comes around seven years after former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal first announced the plan to launch the system in the Capital. However, the project was hit by delays, leading to political sparring.The HIMS, which will be launched at the Delhi Secretariat, aims to provide paperless and technology-enabled healthcare services in the city.Officials from the state health department said the software, at the heart of the system, has been developed in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.“NextGen HIMS will ensure a fully digitised, integrated, and paperless health ecosystem,” an official underlined.Also Read | Yamuna inches closer to danger mark, Delhi set to approach Haryana for control of ITO barrageThe rollout will include 20 digital modules such as OPD/IPD registration, laboratory and radiology integration, electronic medical records, inventory and operation theatre management, and centralised hospital dashboards.Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Singh had earlier said the HIMS has all these modules and more. “It will be fully integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, enabling consent-based, interoperable digital health records, ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) ID integration, and patient-friendly mobile applications,” Singh had said.Officials at the state health department have now said that training for OPD and IPD modules has already been completed across all the government hospitals in the city, with the remaining modules set to be implemented in a phased manner. “Over 93 lakh ABHA IDs have already been generated, laying the groundwork for unified electronic health records for Delhi’s citizens,” an official said.Story continues below this adThe project was first announced in 2018 by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. Kejriwal had then spoken of the plans to roll out a unique e-health card, which was to be launched in 2019, and a cloud-based HIMS covering all Delhi government hospitals. The former CM had expected the system to be launched by 2021.Also Read | ‘DDA yet to deliver on promise’: Signature View Apartments’ residents face double whammy of paying EMI & rentThe e-health card, a QR code-based card to collate clinical details of all patients in one place, was to be tied in with the HIMS. The initiative, however, was stuck in the planning stage for a long time.Last year, the AAP and the BJP had locked horns over the NextGen HIMS. BJP’s Vijender Gupta, who was the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, had written to Atishi, the chief minister at the time, demanding the implementation of the system with the Union government’s software at its foundation. In the letter to Atishi, Gupta said that the effectiveness of the software used by the Centre, which was developed to facilitate smooth hospital management, prevent misuse of public funds, and improve the entire healthcare system, was evident.Saurabh Bharadwaj, who was serving as the health minister, had hit back at the Opposition, saying that the non-availability of the requisite software platform for the system due to a “U-turn” by the bureaucracy had led to the delay in the implementation.Story continues below this adOn Thursday, CM Rekha Gupta will also inaugurate 34 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and eight Jan Aushadhi Kendras online, taking the total number of operational centres in Delhi to 67.Eight new Jan Aushadhi Kendras will also be launched across major government hospitals in the city, increasing the total to 25 centres under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). These centres will offer over 2,000 generic medicines and 300 surgical items at prices 50–80% lower than market brands, significantly reducing the out-of-pocket health expenditure for patients.