Pune: Health Card System in Disarray at YCM Hospital; Printed Slips Replace Smart Cards, Creating Confusion

In 2010, Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital under the Municipal Corporation introduced an e-health card system to digitally record patient data. The initiative, implemented through a private company, aimed to streamline patient history, diagnosis, and treatment. Patients were issued PVC smart cards, similar to PAN cards, containing their name, age, address, photograph, and a unique MRD (Medical Record Department) number. These cards were provided at a one-time fee of ₹30. Subsequently, patients only had to pay ₹10 for outpatient department (OPD) tokens. The smart card system significantly improved data management, allowing digital access to test results, prescriptions, and treatment records.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital discontinued the issuance of PVC smart cards. Instead, patient information is now printed on paper slips during each visit. This change has led to the generation of multiple MRD numbers for a single patient, especially if slips are lost or illegible. As a result, doctors face difficulties retrieving past medical records. In many cases, a single patient has ended up with as many as 20 MRD numbers, fragmenting their treatment history. This has made continuity of care difficult and undermined the efficiency that the original system was meant to provide.

The PVC smart card printers procured by the Municipal Corporation now lie unused. Despite the cost of each card being less than ₹5 in wholesale markets, the administration has made no effort to resume the smart card service. Authorities cite upcoming plans to integrate all civic hospitals and dispensaries into a centralized digital health record system. Due to this larger plan, the private contract at YCM has not been renewed. Instead, tenders will soon be floated to implement this upgraded system across all municipal healthcare facilities.

According to Dr. Laxman Gophane, Medical Health Officer at the Municipal Corporation, a new digital framework is expected to be rolled out in the next four months. The initiative aims to provide a unified and streamlined health data management system throughout Mumbai’s public health institutions. Once in place, this system could reduce paperwork, ensure accurate recordkeeping, and enable faster, data-driven medical treatment. However, until this upgrade is operational, patients and doctors alike continue to grapple with inefficiencies in the absence of the smart health card, a once-promising tool now sidelined due to administrative delays and the pandemic's lasting impact.