The Jammu and Kashmir government is mulling to introduce e-governance in the state-run hospitals to streamline their working and bring transparency.

"To begin with, Government Medical Colleges at Srinagar and Jammu and associated hospitals like Gandhi Nagar Hospital, Jammu and JLNM Hospital, Srinagar will be taken up in the first phase," an official spokesman said after a joint meeting convened by Minister for Medical Education R S Chib and Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma yesterday.

The decision to introduce e-governance in this hospitals was taken by the ministers after a power point presentation by the IT department about its benefits in the hospital management, the spokesman said.

The e-governance system would rationalise the functioning and improve patient care greatly, the ministers observed.

They directed the Principal Secretary Health and Medical Education Department Suresh Kumar to immediately work out the necessary modalities with the NIC and IT departments before finalisation of proposal.

"Every care should be taken to ensure that the system serves its purpose efficiently and improves the patient care as per the modern trends," the ministers said.

The government was keen to promote IT in every sector to maintain the transparency in the system and provide better services to the people, they added.

The ministers were informed that the IT department will be fully responsible for operating the system at least for one year after installation or till the necessary manpower is trained.