In a significant step towards modernizing emergency healthcare, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raipur has officially launched a new, homegrown digital system designed to manage medicine stocks. The platform, named AUSHADHI-ER, is a web-based inventory management solution aimed at guaranteeing a steady supply of critical drugs and streamlining operations within the Emergency Department.
Addressing Critical Challenges in Emergency Care
The development of AUSHADHI-ER was driven by long-standing, practical problems faced in the emergency unit. For years, the department depended on physical record-keeping and multiple manual registers. This outdated method lacked real-time visibility into stock levels, frequently leading to two major issues: over-ordering of medicines or dangerous stock discrepancies. In a high-stakes emergency setting where an uninterrupted supply of life-saving drugs is non-negotiable, such inefficiencies posed a direct risk to patient safety and care quality.
The innovative concept for the platform was conceived by Dr. Debendra Kumar Tripathy. The technical development was then carried forward by Dr. Roshan Mathew and Dr. Naman Agrawal. The project was nurtured under the institute's SRIJAN (Scientific Research and Innovation Junction for AI and New Biomedical Technologies) initiative, which focuses on fostering digital health and biomedical innovations.
How AUSHADHI-ER Transforms Inventory Management
Developed as part of the iECS project, AUSHADHI-ER marks a shift from a paper-heavy process to a fully automated, paperless platform. Its core function is to provide real-time stock entry and reporting, giving hospital staff instant and accurate data on drug availability. This eliminates guesswork and manual errors, ensuring that essential medicines are always on hand when needed most.
Currently, the system is being utilized for drug inventory management in the Ground Floor Emergency Department. However, the administration has plans to expand its scope shortly. The next phase will include tracking medical consumables, followed by a progressive rollout across other critical areas like the Trauma Intensive Care Unit (TICU) and the Emergency Operation Theatre.
Setting a Benchmark for Public Healthcare
The system was formally inaugurated by Executive Director and CEO Lt Gen Ashok Jindal (Retd). During the launch, he emphasized the platform's role in translating frontline clinical challenges into scalable digital solutions. He stated that innovations like AUSHADHI-ER are crucial for improving transparency, operational efficiency, and ultimately, patient safety.
Lt Gen Jindal noted that this indigenous development sets a new benchmark for technology-driven improvements within India's public healthcare infrastructure. By ensuring a reliable drug supply chain in emergencies, AIIMS Raipur is not only solving an internal logistical hurdle but also creating a model that could be adopted by other healthcare institutions across the country to enhance their emergency response capabilities.
