Mumbai: Tata hospital to set up national digital library

With the aim of collating patients’ records in all the 270 hospitals across India under the National Cancer Grid (NCG), the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) has decided to set up a national digital library in its building, which will be the main hub for all data records.

The TMH signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Koita Centre for Digital Oncology (KCDO) on Friday. The Koita foundation will help further digitalise medical records by introducing artificial intelligence, which will provide better treatment accessibility to patients.

This will help to create a data bank of the patients suffering from different types of cancer across India which will help in research and policy-making.

The National Cancer Grid (NCG) is an initiative of the Government of India through the Department of Atomic Energy and its granting-aid institution, the Tata Memorial Centre, to create a network of cancer centres, research institutes, patient groups, and charitable institutions across India with the objective of developing uniform standards of patient care for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer; providing specialized training and education in oncology and facilitating collaborative basic, translational and clinical research in cancer.

Dr RA Badwe, director, TMC said, “The Koita Centre for digital oncology is a very timely initiative. It will help create an innovation ecosystem across hospitals, healthcare technology companies, academic and research organisations to address challenges in cancer care.”

Dr C Pramesh, director, Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital-Mumbai and the convenor of the NCG, said the collaboration will enhance cancer care and make it more accessible, and affordable across India.

“With this collaboration, we look forward to how we can use digital tools, and technology for the entire spectrum of cancer care, starting from prevention to screening, early detection, and post-treatment. The aim is to be more efficient, patient-friendly,” he said. Free Press Journal