Shimla, Jan 16 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh government is planning to link all its major hospitals to a central data centre using a new information technology system, state Health and Family Welfare Minister Rajeev Bindal said here Monday.

Speaking at a seminar here, Bindal said the public health services would be strengthened through health management information system (HMIS).

A state data centre would be established where information of all the hospitals would be integrated and made available online, he said.

The minister said HMIS would provide medical record of each patient and the data would be utilised for research purposes.

Each patient would be provided an identification number which would help him get treatment in any government hospital in the state, he said.

“Initially online facility would be extended to 20 hospitals in six districts by March 31. By 2012-13, all the hospitals in the state would be connected with local area network and wide area network,” he said.

“The system study has been completed for 15 hospitals and the requirement study would be completed in the rest of the targeted hospitals before March,” Bindal said.