IBM Labs seeks national health data network

IBM Research Labs has made a strong pitch for setting up of a nationwide distributed health data network (HDN) to the government.

HDN would be targeted at government organisations dealing with supply, procurement and distribution of drugs and materials, hospitals and insurance providers.

The report has suggested that government take a lead in funding the project. In a recently submitted report to President A P J Abdul Kalam, it has highlighted the benefits of such a network over the short and the long term.

While in the US, the competition in healthcare consulting is fierce between the likes of IBM and Accenture, the Indian market is still in a nascent stage.

Worldwide, governments are the biggest spender on IT infrastructure in health care and while IBM has highlighted India's dismal funding record, it is hopeful that government would see some merit in the report.

"We are mobilising support in the industry and talking to government about the project. A proof of concept at the district level can be set up in a few months," Gopalakrishnan, director, IBM Research Labs, India, said.

The benefit of a network like the HDN, according to IBM,include data driven deployment of facilities such as specialty hospitals, tele-medicine centres, and mobile health vans.

Once extended to patient health records, the network would eventually also allow improved tracking of patient referrals and health histories.

The report has argued that specific IT-based solutions like Facilities Registry and Planning (FRP) application and Procurement and Distribution of Drugs and Supplies (PDDS) management would facilitate planning and improve operational efficiency in healthcare.