​RML lab system non-functional two years after installation, patients continue to face delays

NEW DELHI: Patients at RML Hospital continue to face delays in getting blood and biopsy reports as the hospital’s Laboratory Information System (LIS), installed in 2024, remains non-functional, forcing them to depend on the manual process of collecting physical reports.The LIS was meant to integrate laboratory services with the hospital’s existing Hospital Information System (HIS). If functioning, reports would be available electronically, allowing patients to access them through the hospital system and doctors to view them directly, without patients having to return to the hospital or carry physical copies.The issue was flagged by The Times of India through a grievance filed on the Centre’s CPGRAMS portal. The LIS had not been integrated with the existing HIS and approximately Rs 1 crore had been paid to the vendor, while no report had been generated through the system.Sources said the system was installed around two years ago at a cost exceeding Rs 1 crore, with 90% of the payment released to the vendor. The issue reportedly came up recently when the hospital director sought details of laboratory-test computerisation.The LIS was intended to integrate laboratory departments, including biochemistry, pathology and microbiology, with the hospital’s existing system. However, the integration remains incomplete, with the biochemistry component also yet to be fully integrated, sources said.The system’s continued non-functioning means its intended benefit of electronic access to laboratory reports for patients and doctors has not materialised even around two years after installation.The response to the CPGRAMS grievance did not address the functioning of the LIS. In a communication dated October 16, 2025, RML’s grievance cell instead asked the complainant to confirm whether the complaint had been filed by them and submit related documents as evidence in support of the grievance.

Responding to the issue, a senior RML Hospital administration official said, “Patient services have remained uninterrupted during the transition. Laboratory reports have continued to be provided under the existing operational system, while the LIS integration is nearing completion and is expected to go live shortly.”The hospital said the LIS was successfully interfaced with its eHospital platform in September 2025 and that, following NIC’s recommendation to align the system with the forthcoming Next-Generation eHospital platform, the final integration is now being taken up on priority. The hospital said the Department of Biochemistry is expected to be the first to operationalise the upgraded LIS.