Biometrics attendance for PGI doctors in OPDs soon

CHANDIGARH: Doctors need to be now cautious when it comes to OPD timings in PGI, as a biometrics attendance system will be installed soon. With its success in the administrative block in the institute, the authorities are all set to use this system in all OPDs as well.


Last year, PGI director Dr Jagat Ram had instructed the faculty that they all should inculcate the habit of punctuality for better patient care. And to start with, it was decided that the director’s office would have biometrics.

At present, there is no system to monitor the entry or exit timings of doctors in OPDs. There is a footfall of more than 6,000 patients in the OPDs daily in the hospital. There are around 1,700 doctors in PGI and at any given time 1,000 of them man different OPDs. In the next phase, the medical superintendent’s office and radiodiagnosis department shall have biometrics attendance system.

Biometrics are fingerprint-based. “We will have the system installed in the OPDs to avoid patient rush. It is often seen if doctors do not come on time, patients are kept waiting for long, which increases the rush,” said Dr Jagat Ram. He said, “Every doctor has OPD days and is supposed to attend it on time. But most of the OPDs continue even after their timings due to patient rush.”

Last year, the UT health department had also proposed to start biometric attendance in Government Medical College and Hospital, (GMCH), Sector 32 and Government Multi-specialty hospital (GMSH), Sector 16. The GMCH has biometrics as ordered by the Medical Council of India that makes it mandatory for medical colleges.

‘Not clerks’

This system cannot be adopted in hospitals as we are not restricted to sit in OPDs. There are rounds in wards, there can be an emergency call. We are not clerks who have restricted timings to sit in an office

PGI faculty member