Tamil Nadu Onboards 2,423 Government Hospitals to Digital Health System e-Nalam
Tamil Nadu has brought 2,423 government healthcare facilities under its revamped Health Management Information System 3.0 (HMIS 3.0), now renamed as 'e-Nalam'. This includes primary health centres, health and wellness centres, sub-district hospitals, district headquarters hospitals, and medical college hospitals. These facilities are already capturing outpatient details in real time, with the inpatient module being rolled out across remaining hospitals.
According to the Health and Family Welfare Department’s 2025-2026 policy note, HMIS is a key digital initiative to streamline healthcare data collection, analysis, and reporting. It integrates public health programmes, hospital records, and patient care data to improve decision-making and service delivery. Officials stated that the objective is to provide every citizen with secure and convenient access to digital health records, ensuring better continuity of care and enabling the government to deliver improved healthcare services.
Currently, 30 districts are covered under HMIS 3.0, with the remaining eight districts to be onboarded shortly. The system was introduced in late 2024 and rolled out in phases starting September 2025. 'We are now in the fag end of phase IV, and phase V will be launched next month, when the remaining eight districts will be onboarded,' said Gomathi Rengasamy, analyst at HMIS.
Outpatient details captured in real time include patient registration, vitals measurement, doctor consultation, pharmacy and drug details, and laboratory reports. The system covers the entire flow from patient entry and registration. Inpatient modules are being implemented in medical college hospitals, including doctor’s notes during rounds, staff nurse entries for monitoring, sample collection details, and prescribed drugs. Laboratory reports will be made available online.
A key advantage of HMIS is interoperability across government health facilities. For example, if a patient is treated at Thumbaipatti Primary Health Centre and later seeks care at Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, their medical records will be readily available on the system. 'HMIS 3.0 is user-friendly and can be easily accessed by both doctors and nurses,' Ms. Gomathi added. Hospitals can instantly access a patient’s records by scanning the barcode on the outpatient card or using the patient’s unique PIN. Patients receive details via SMS and laboratory reports on WhatsApp.
The required infrastructure, including hardware and local area network (LAN), is provided through the National Health Mission. In addition, the Health Department recently launched 'Nalam AI', a WhatsApp chatbot service, under HMIS 3.0 to strengthen digital healthcare services. Through this, the public can locate the nearest government hospital, register patient details, download outpatient cards, prescriptions and laboratory reports, and access essential healthcare information.
