Tele-Consultation for follow-up patients soon at PGI Chandigarh

Chandigarh: The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, plans to launch tele-consultation services for follow-up patients to reduce the heavy patient load during Outpatient Department (OPD) hours.

The telemedicine department has circulated a formal proposal to all departments at the institute, inviting them to participate in the initiative. Under the proposed model, follow-up patients will be given the option to schedule online video consultations during their in-person OPD visits. Once registered, they would be assigned a specific date and time for a virtual appointment with their doctor.

The move, spearheaded by PGIMER’s telemedicine department, aims to reduce physical crowding and waiting times, particularly for patients who travel long distances for follow-up visits.

Each day, PGIMER receives between 8,000 and 10,000 outpatients, with follow-up visits accounting for roughly two-thirds of the total, and new registrations making up the rest. The institute has long struggled to manage this overwhelming patient volume.

One such initiative already in use is the Digi Seva system in the hepatology department. It allows follow-up patients to register online, bypass long queues, and receive priority access to doctors.

While PGIMER has already been providing remote consultations to doctors in Haryana under a memorandum of understanding with the state government — with 2.5 lakh expert opinions delivered since 2021 — direct doctor-to-patient tele-consultations have not yet been implemented at any government-run facility in the region. If PGIMER implements this service, it would be the first such initiative in a government healthcare institution.

Also Read: PGI Chandigarh boosts Clinical Research with access to over 28,000 case records

According to the Hindustan Times, a meeting involving stakeholders from various departments was held last month, following which a formal proposal has been circulated. So far, internal medicine, nephrology, neurosurgery, endocrinology, obstetrics and gynaecology, and gastroenterology departments have shown interest.

Although the project is still in its early stages and the technical details are yet to be finalised, a significant hurdle in its implementation is the shortage of adequate manpower.

Each department will need at least one data entry operator to manage scheduling and a technical assistant to support doctors during virtual consultations. With existing staff already stretched thin, departments may need to reallocate personnel or pursue new hiring.

Currently, the telemedicine department operates with just 25 staff members—23 of whom are funded under two Health Ministry-sponsored projects. PGIMER has directly provided only two contractual staffers for cleaning and sweeping.

Also Read: PGI Chandigarh celebrates 62 years of Healing

In addition to tele-consultation, the department also produces educational content — such as video lectures and training modules for MBBS students — under the health ministry’s learning management initiative. The long-pending demand for sanctioned academic and faculty posts was recently tabled at the institute’s 131st Standing Finance Committee meeting and is under review.

A follow-up meeting with departmental heads is expected once responses to the circulated proposal are received.