HCL Infosystems Ltd and Fortis Healthcare Ltd, have entered into a strategic IT outsourcing deal in Bangalore. The deal is expected to take patient care delivery in the Indian healthcare sector to the next level.
The deal is part of a five year agreement under which HCL will undertake complete outsourcing of IT systems and processes of Fortis Healthcare Ltd. IT platform for all the hospitals in Fortis network will be standardized through the IT system installed by HCL within a period of twelve months, with the first hospital going live by the end of February 2010.
As per the agreement, the IT major will deploy Hospital Information Systems (HIS) & Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions to standardize operations across Fortis hospitals. HCL will also provide solutions to enable financial consolidation through automation of systems and will also deploy business intelligence & analytics solutions that would enable improving service levels, help faster decision making and optimum utilization of resources for the healthcare major. This deal makes Fortis the first healthcare delivery company in India to undertake complete strategic outsourcing for IT applications and infrastructure management.
Hospitals within the Fortis network will be connected through a centralized IT system which will enable online sharing of patient records and data. This would give flexibility to patients to visit other Fortis facilities without carrying all their medical records. Fortis Operating System (FOS), the common operating system for all Fortis Hospitals, will be integrated with the IT system enabling faster decision making and enhanced efficiencies. All this will result in further improved patient care across patient touch points.
According to Shivinder Mohan Singh, Managing Director, Fortis Healthcare, the tie-up will create newer benchmarks in the quality of healthcare delivery and patient care and take it to the next level. IT forms the back bone for hospital operations and improved patient care. The system integration with high end IT infrastructure would result in enhanced performance and superior patient care. "I am delighted that with this initiative we will not only have an integrated IT platform meeting the needs of our company today but also have a robust IT infrastructure capable of servicing the future needs of a large network of hospitals across national boundaries and geographies," he said.
According to Ajai Chowdhry, chairman & CEO, HCL Infosystems Ltd, the deal with Fortis Healthcare is a strategic and an effective move that will not only set new benchmarks for the Indian healthcare industry but also have a positive rub-off on the Fortis Healthcare objectives to provide quality treatment to its patients.