MP High Court Directs Finalization of Action Plan for Digitizing Gas Tragedy Medical Records

The affidavit also disclosed that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has proposed a cloud server for the e-hospital project to store the digitized records.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the Union Health Ministry, the State Chief Secretary, and the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) to finalize an action plan for digitizing medical records of patients affected by the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.

The court has set a deadline of one week for the submission of this plan. The court's directive, issued on January 6, was made public on Wednesday.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice SK Kait and Justice Vivek Jain expressed dissatisfaction over the delays, remarking that the respondents appeared "not serious" about completing the task.

The directive came during a hearing of a contempt petition filed by the Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sanghathan concerning the rehabilitation of the tragedy’s survivors.

The court ordered the Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary, and the Director of BMHRC to convene within one week to devise a time-bound plan to expedite the digitization process.

The bench emphasized the need for accountability by mandating daily progress reports from the first meeting of the concerned authorities and ensuring the release of necessary funds.

Digitization Challenges Highlighted

An affidavit filed by the respondents revealed the scale of the digitization challenge. The records predating 2014 are old, allowing only 3,000 pages to be scanned daily. Based on this pace, the task would require approximately 550 days to complete.

The exact timeline, however, can only be confirmed once the process begins, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit also disclosed that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has proposed a cloud server for the e-hospital project to store the digitized records.

However, financial approval from the Finance Department is still awaited, with budget allocation expected in the 2025-26 financial year.

Once funding is approved, the entire project, including integrating the records into the server, is projected to be completed within 12 months.

The High Court's intervention underscores the urgency of digitizing the medical records of gas tragedy survivors to streamline healthcare services and ensure timely rehabilitation efforts.

The court’s stringent timeline is expected to push stakeholders toward expedited execution.

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